Fate Proto Night
by MagusZero
Summary: Sajyou Ayaka was the original protagonist of what eventually became Fate/Stay Night, but what if she lived in a world where she coexisted with Emiya Shirou, and both of them became involved in the 5th Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City? A remake of my old Fate/Proto Crossing story. Rated M (to be safe) for violence (it is a Holy Grail War) and eventual suggestive themes.
1. Death Sentence - Night of Fate

"Father!"

Sajyou Ayaka awoke from her nightmare drenched in sweat. Her hand trembling, she blinked her blue eyes several times as she fumbled for her glasses.

It was always the same nightmare, of the ending of the Fourth Holy Grail War, ten years ago. She couldn't remember much of it clearly, as she had been too young to understand what was happening, but what she could remember was all too vivid… her father being cut to ribbons and thrown aside… her older sister Manaka standing over her with a seraphic smile… only for a gaping hole to suddenly open in her sister's chest. And on top of losing her family, she had lost a friend too. True he was still 'alive', but he was as good as dead to her. He was no longer the same person, and the son of her enemy now no less.

Was it any wonder that she feared the Holy Grail Wars and wanted nothing to do with them again? But everyone seemed to expect that she would participate in the Fifth Holy Grail War. After all, Manaka had been the Sajyou Master before her, and their father, Sajyou Hiroki, had moved from Tokyo to Fuyuki specifically so that his family could better take part in the ritual.

But Ayaka knew she couldn't do what her sister had done. Manaka was a genius, exceptionally skilled and powerful for her age. But Ayaka was just… average… hopelessly average. Ayaka had twenty Magic Circuits of middling quality, marking her as thoroughly average as a Magus, and she thought her looks were plain as well, with glasses and the dark hair typical of most Japanese girls. Manaka had stood out with her looks too, with blonde hair inherited from their British mother, and a doll-like cuteness to her. In all ways, Manaka had been better than her… and she had died in the Holy Grail War all the same. What chance would Ayaka stand?

The next Holy Grail War should have been another fifty years from now, but if what her guardian, Kotomine, had told her was true, it appeared to be coming early this time. That knowledge loomed over her like a death sentence, but she tried her best to ignore it, going through the motions of leading a normal life. In any case, she was too cowardly to think of running away from Fuyuki, and deep down she knew she was lying to herself whenever she tried to tell herself that it would be alright. She was too much of a pessimist to really believe otherwise.

So Ayaka mechanically went through her morning routine. She got dressed, pausing for a moment when she noticed a small bruise on her chest, but she decided it was nothing. She then cooked herself a simple breakfast - eggs, assorted vegetables, and coffee, and stared glumly at the chairs that her father and sister had once occupied while she joylessly ate it. Then she headed to her workshop in the Garden, a botanical greenhouse adjoining the house that her mother had left for her before succumbing to illness. Besides a variety of magically-useful herbs, a number of crows and pigeons nested there. The crows were to be Ayaka's familiars, while the pigeons were meant to be sacrificed for their blood. Her father had been quite explicit in that she must regularly make such sacrifices, for her Magecraft, like any other, was based on the principal of equivalent exchange, and blood useful as a source of concentrated magical energy. She could never stomach killing the pigeons though, not after all of the carnage she had seen at the end of the last Grail War, so she would just slit one of her own fingers instead and then bandage it up, though she could only get a trickle of blood in this way.

Following her latest failure to follow her father's orders, she began her daily walk to Homurahara Academy. She felt ill at ease around others, both from her own lack of self-confidence, and the necessity of hiding her true nature as a Magus. It was an issue that Tohsaka Rin, the current Second Owner of Fuyuki, and a fellow orphan of the War under Kotomine's guardianship, did not seem to have. In a sense, Rin could have been her surrogate sister since Manaka's death, except Kotomine would never formally adopt either of them, ostensibly for reasons of mage politics, and nor did they want him to. Rin and Ayaka couldn't truly be close to each other either, in spite of their similar backgrounds. After all, Rin fully intended to fight in the coming Grail War, and involving herself with Rin would be tantamount to Ayaka involving herself in the Grail Wars as well, which she refused to do.

While Rin was not as incredibly gifted as her sister had been, she was still an exceptionally powerful Magus for her age. Ayaka also thought Rin was far more beautiful than herself, and on top of that, Rin had the charm and academic ability to assume the guise of the school's idol and wrap almost everyone else around her finger. Thus, Ayaka lived in Rin's shadow, just as she had in Manaka's.

Then there was Reiroukan Misaya. She had transferred to Homuhara Academy a few months ago from Tokyo, but both Rin and Ayaka knew why she had come: to be a Master in the Holy Grail War as well. After all, the Reiroukan had been the highest-ranking Magus family in Tokyo back when the Sajyou had lived there as well. Misaya's gaze always turned predatory when she looked at them, or the Matou siblings for that matter, for she clearly considered all of them to be potential enemies. But just as Rin was two-faced, revealing her true, grumpy nature when she wasn't at school, Misaya adopted the impeccable manners of a noblewoman when others were around. Paired with her almost cruel beauty, she was now a rival to Rin's position as school idol, which had to irk Rin to no end.

Misaya wasn't the only transfer student as of late. There was a young man with European features, with red hair and green eyes, who had only arrived within the last two weeks. The proximity of his transfer to the Holy Grail War made Ayaka anxious at first, and she thought he might be another Master, like Misaya, but he had shown no hints of magical ability, and more importantly, lacked the animosity towards his would-be competitors that a Master would have. Indeed, the transfer student, who had introduced himself as Isemi, had quickly established himself as being one of the gentlest boys at Homurahara Academy, and paired with his handsome appearance, this soon had plenty of girls fawning over him. It was clear to Ayaka that Matou Shinji, the vice captain of the archery club, who somehow remained popular in spite of his womanizing and generally slimy behavior, already resented Isemi for 'stealing' the spotlight from him. Yet Shinji had yet to take out his anger on Isemi, and hadn't seemed as arrogant as he usually did lately. Why? In any case, Ayaka appreciated Isemi's presence at the school as much as anyone who thought it was good to see Shinji taken down a peg or two, but she couldn't let herself get too close to him, or anyone else at that matter.

But someone always insisted on getting close to her….

"Sajyou-san? Did you cut yourself again?" Emiya Shirou's all too-familiar voice asked with concern.

Ayaka grimaced. Shirou was the adopted son of Emiya Kiritsugu, the Magus Killer. Kiritsugu had been there on the night of her father and sister's death, she was sure of that. And while she couldn't remember much of it, she knew that her father had confined her to the house for the last few days of the Fourth Holy Grail War after Kiritsugu had kidnapped her and unsucessfully tried to use her as leverage against Manaka. Kiritsugu had passed away of an illness five years ago, but Ayaka had no doubt that Kiritsugu had trained Shirou as the second Magus Killer.

What made it worse was that Shirou had once been her friend. She couldn't remember his family name from before the fire, or perhaps he hadn't ever told her. But one day, while she was sitting in the park by herself, feeling lonely, he had approached her and asked if she wanted to play. He was a lot more cheerful back then, and she couldn't help but feel better at seeing his silly grin. It was a precious memory, brief as it was. She had spent so much time with him that day that she had stayed out past her curfew, which led to her abduction by Kiritsugu.

The next time she had seen him was inside the Fuyuki Civic Center, where the carnage at the end of the Fourth Holy Grail War had unfolded. Why he was there with her and so many others, she couldn't say, but he was barely coherent, his mind creaking under the weight of the horrors before them. After waking up in a hospital room, her hopes had soared when Kotomine told her there was another survivor, but they were dashed soon thereafter. Shirou had no memory of her from before the fire, and the man sitting by his side was none other than the Magus Killer.

"I was just clumsy," she lied, not making eye contact with Shirou. He was actually become somewhat handsome, in a more rugged way than Isemi, but save for his reddish-brown hair, Shirou didn't really stand out otherwise. He was always going out of his way to help people around the school, for which he had earned the reputation of Homurahara's 'Fake Janitor', but he always seemed to take a particular interest in her, and that made her uncomfortable.

"Are you sure?" he pressed.

"I'm fine." Why couldn't Shirou go bother Sakura instead? The girl was clearly in love with him.

"Okay, Sajyou-san. But let me know if you need any help. It's been nearly ten years since that…." his words trailed off, and he froze up for a moment, trembling. Why would he dredge up memories that were just as painful to him as they were to her?

"Why did you have to bring that up now, you idiot?" she snapped, pulling off her glasses for a moment. This was a quirk of Ayaka's. She had started wearing her glasses to correct for the myopia she had developed after spending too much time immersed in books while her father and sister worked together, but in her mind, they also helped put some distance between herself and the world. In turn, this maintained her meek and withdrawn personality at school. But as soon as she removed them, her personality would change drastically, becoming irritable and aggressive. Ayaka didn't like showing this side of her personality, but in this case she couldn't properly express herself in her bespectacled persona. "Snap out of it!"

Shirou blinked, coming back to reality, and Ayaka put back on her glasses. But her outburst had caused a scene.

"Whoa, are those two going out together?" a student whispered.

"I thought she hated him," replied another.

"It's a tsundere thing she has going there. I bet she actually likes him."

"Emiya-kun's totally crushing on her, though. Don't you think he goes a bit more out of his way than usual for Sajyou-san, even though she never wants his help?"

"We aren't going out together," Shirou and Ayaka replied, nearly in unison. Immediately, what was left of Ayaka's anger turned to embarrassment. That was just the worst thing she could have said in that situation.

"I… I have to go," she murmured, eyes downcast as she pushed past the crowd.

The school day passed, but Ayaka could barely focus on her classes, for there was something she had to do after school. She didn't feel like she missed much though, since it wasn't as if she was particularly skilled in any of her school subjects except English anyways. As soon as the bell rang, she excused herself, and headed for the school gate. It was raining, so she took out her umbrella.

"Huh? Sajyou-san? Are you going somewhere?" Isemi called out.

"To the graveyard on the outskirts of Shinto," she said as she kept walking. She made a habit of visiting her father's grave on the anniversary of his death. They had never found Manaka's body though. Kotomine had suggested that it must have been burned beyond recognition.

"I see. Well, be careful, Sajyou-san," Isemi replied. "There's been a lot of strange stuff in the news lately…"

Like she needed him to tell her that, well meaning as he was. Already, the authorities were reporting suspicious "gas leaks", and from Kotomine's insistent phone calls, she knew that the Fifth Holy Grail War was about to begin. But she wasn't a Master. These incidents had nothing to do with her.

The graveyard brought her uncomfortably close to Kotomine's church. Like the Tohsaka who had invited them to Fuyuki, Sajyou Hiroki had enjoyed close ties with the Church, but Ayaka did not consider herself devout by any means. Growing up under Kotomine was enough to make anyone jaded with the idea of organized religion. Still, visiting the graveyard was the least she could do to honor her father's memory. She laid a wreath on the grave, and was about to go, when she heard someone step up behind her. Turning around, she thought for a moment that it was Kotomine come to pester her about the Grail War again, but the priest was a younger, European-looking man with pale hair. His blue eyes looked kind, and he was carrying roses in his arms, but Ayaka couldn't help but feel uneasy in his presence.

"Hello, Sajyou-san," he said, fluently speaking in Japanese.

"Who are you?" She asked. "What do you want?"

"My apologies, Sajyou-san. My name is Sancraid Phahn. I belong to the Assembly of the Eighth Sacrament in the Holy Church. What happened to your family…. I'm really sorry about that."

Ayaka gritted her teeth and turned away from him.

"They were so close to the truth too, and had won nearly every battle…."

"Please, go away…"

"I hope we can get along quite well, Sajyou-san. But why aren't you making preparations yet?" he asked with concern. "Everyone else has either already summoned or is preparing to summon their Servants.

"I already have Kotomine telling me that…"

"So why don't you follow his advice? He is your priest and guardian, is he not? Kotomine understands what you do not… Why, he was one of the Masters in the last war."

She turned to face Sancraid again. "I want nothing to do with the Holy Grail War."

Sancraid frowned. "That is unfortunate. All things are related by cause and effect, and as long as you are alive, the Holy Grail War will always have something to do with you." He leaned in close, his voice dropping to almost a whisper. "If you want to be free of that connection, the only choice left to you is to die. So please, make your preparations tonight. After dark, everyone will seek you out. After all, the strongest opponent should be eliminated as soon as possible, right?"

Ayaka felt as if body had turned to ice, and went pale. Of course, she had known that the countdown to her death would reach zero once the Holy Grail War began, but to have another throwing that truth right in her face produced the need for an immediate fight or flight response. She chose to run, hoping to take sanctuary at Kotomine's Church. But she had scarcely left the graveyard and Sancraid when she encountered a small girl with long silvery hair, red eyes, and a purple coat, standing between her and the path to the church.

"Don't think of running that way, Sajyou…" the girl said sweetly. "I have nothing against you, but Grandfather Acht really was quite insistent that I kill you. You see, the Sajyou stole the catalyst that was supposed to be ours last time. But you haven't summoned a Servant yet, have you?" She pouted. "Killing you when you're completely defenseless would be no fun! So I'll give you until midnight…"

Ayaka didn't need to be told twice. She turned, and started running back to her home in Miyama Town, on the other side of the city. It was almost dark when she got there. Still in a panic, Ayaka began frantically looking for anything that could protect her. Of course, the whole house was warded by a Bounded Field that her father had established, but if an intruder got past it, she would have to fight herself. There was a simple shroud of invisibility that could partially conceal her presence, but that would only buy her time. And then there was a ring of Witchcraft, left by her mother. It was silver in color, with engravings of feathers on its side, and adorned with a black jewel, a Mystic Code containing one of the few spells Ayaka felt she had any proficiency with. When she passed prana into it from her Magic Circuits, she could conjure plumes of black feathers that would fly at her enemies. Like Rin's Gandr Shot, the feathers were charged with black magic, allowing them to deliver a curse, but they had a greater, though momentary, physicality to them as well, allowing them to do additional damage upon contact. In that sense, the spell was essentially making use of Projection as well.

Breathing heavily, Ayaka slipped her mother's ring onto her finger, turned off all the lights, and then tossed herself on the couch, facing away from windows and pulling the shroud of invisibility over her.

Ayaka's only indication of how long she spent cowering there was the occasional chiming of the grandfather clock. Her heart was still hammering in her chest. "I can't do it… I can't do it" echoed endlessly in her mind. "There's no way I can do what my sister did! Just leave me alone!"

Then she heard the dogs barking outside. They seemed to be getting closer. Ayaka pulled the shroud over her tighter, begging for them to go away. But then she heard yelps of pain, as the dogs were intercepted and dispatched by the Bounded Field. And there was a strong magical aura nearby… that meant….

Ayaka threw off the shroud as a pair of dogs leaped through the windows, snarling at her as they landed on the ground. Brandishing the feathered ring, she unleashed a flurry of plumes that flew toward their targets. The dogs howled as the feathers struck their mark, and then Ayaka turned and ran into the hallway.

More dogs pursued, but in the confines of the corridor, it was impossible for them to dodge as Ayaka conjured more cursed feathers, and they were killed outright. A burning pain radiated through her body, as using one's Magic Circuits was inherently unnatural, but she didn't show it, for Magi were trained to tolerate such routine discomfort. Still, she felt her confidence swell. Was the enemy Servant only going to send these dog familiars after her? Ha! He'd have to do better than that.

Of course, being a braggart at times was another of Ayaka's flaws, and no sooner had she thought that, the hounds ceased their attack, and the Servant appeared. He was blue-haired man, wearing armor over a matching tunic, trimmed with fur, and was carrying a wooden spear in his hands. From what she knew of the Holy Grail Wars, this had to be Lancer.

"Oi, so you're the little lady of this house," he said, sounding bored. "Look, it's nothing personal, but my Master wants me to bring her your head tonight, so let's finish this up quick.

Ayaka knew there was nothing she could do to defeat a Servant. He would kill her, and that would be the end of it. But reflexively, she shouted "Stay away!" and sent another barrage of feathers his way.

Lancer lazily swept the feathers aside with his spear, and in another moment he was almost upon her. Ayaka stumbled backwards, narrowly avoiding being decapitated by his swing, which carved a long furrow into the wall. Scrambling to her feet, she fired more cursed feathers at Lancer, and at that distance he actually had to try to block them, buying her a precious second to put distance between herself and him. But constantly using the ring was rapidly depleting her magical energy. She wouldn't be able to hold off an opponent as powerful as Lancer for much longer.

"Hm… good instincts," Lancer whistled, sounding faintly impressed. "That's some old-fashioned black magic you've got there, little lady. It's such a waste… but it would have been boring if the hunt ended so soon, wouldn't it?"

She wasn't listening to him. She recalled her father telling her that if she ever found herself in a dire situation, she should head to Garden, and that was exactly what she was doing. Throwing herself inside, she sealed the door, making nearby branches grow rampant over it, and then she activated the Garden's Bounded Field, which was the strongest in the house. Surely, it would hold Lancer for a -

Ayaka was thrown backward as Lancer knocked down the door with a single thrust of his spear, causing a veritable gale of wind to rush into her Garden. The hounds followed close behind, leaping into the air. She managed to kill one of them, but the other landed and bit her thigh. It then knocked her to the ground, raking its claws across her arms. The familiar was much stronger than she was, so there was no hope of her shaking it off. She had nearly reached her limit, so she knew she would have only one chance against it.

The hound reared up, preparing to tear out her throat, and in doing so exposed its chest to her. A deadly burst of black magic tore through it, killing it instantly. Then her hand fell back down to the ground. That was it. She was exhausted, and even if she had the magical energy for another shot, it wouldn't do any good against Lancer. She forced herself not to cry.

 _"I'll be seeing you soon, father… sister… mother…"_

"That's it? Are you out of ammunition? Or did you just give up? Just when it was getting good too… Well, it can't be helped. You made this hunt more interesting than I ever thought it was going to be though, so I promise I'll make it quick. I'm on a schedule anyways. My Master gave me ten minutes to finish this job, and that's almost up."

Lancer raised his spear over her heart, and sheer terror gripped her.

 _"No! I refuse to die! I refuse to die_!" she thought spear began its fatal descent. "Father! Save me!" she cried.

The tip of the spear pierced her blouse and drew a trickle of blood from her chest, but before it could go any deeper there was a sudden flash of light and a gust of wind that threw Lancer back. The wind continued to swirl around her, and sigils, long hidden on the ground, lit up with magical energy.

"What?" Lancer shouted over the din. "She actually managed to summon a Servant? No more time for playing around then!" He lunged forward again, but before he could strike, another being materialized between them, and immediately turned to deflect Lancer's attack with a massive black and silver shield.

"Huh? A shield? What gives? What kind of Servant are you?"

"I am the Servant Shielder!" a female voice cried out. "You will not harm my Master!"

 **Author's Note:**

 **This is a remake of my older Fate/Proto Crossing. That version of the story is officially dead after a long hiatus (as some of you may have surmised). However, I hope that this version will be more successful, as the basic idea of the story has appealed to me for several years.**

 **While the conflict to come most closely resembles the Fuyuki Holy Grail War, certain liberties will be taken in this story. In a nod to early drafts of Fate/Stay Night, Ayaka's Servant will be Shielder, whose design was later repurposed into Mash Kyrielight in Fate/Grand Order. Shielder has the same basic design in this story, but is a different character than Mash. While Fate/Prototype purists might prefer to see Ayaka with Proto Saber as her Servant, it is necessary for him to be another Master's Servant in this story, so that said Master's backstory and powers might remain relatively intact. But rest assured, Proto Saber will be appearing soon, and Ayaka will have plenty of time to interact with him throughout the Grail War.**

 **As for the cover illustration, some may notice that Ayaka is not wearing her typical uniform. This is entirely intentional. After all, if she attends Homuhara Academy in this story, she would wear the same uniform that Rin, Sakura, and the other girls have in Fate/Stay Night.**

 **As an aside, if you want an OP theme to this story, as if you were watching the episodes of an anime while you read it, then I recommend "Brave Shine", particularly Sapphire's English lyrics for it. While it is originally the opening to the second half of the 2014 Unlimited Blade Works Adaptation, and the song was about Shirou, I believe parts of it rather aptly captures what our protagonist Ayaka is feeling as well. Then again, they have similar backstories, which was in part the inspiration of this story, so that makes sense.**

 **Special thanks to my reader, who provided me the encouragement necessary to revive this project, and has provided useful feedback and suggestions.**


	2. The Curtain Rises - Decision

Ayaka watched what happened next in a daze. Lancer tried to press the attack, but he could not breach Shielder's defenses, and with a force that should not have been possible for one of so slight a frame, Shielder then counterattacked by swinging her shield as a blunt weapon. There was a cracking sound, and while Lancer managed to avoid the brunt of the blow by leaping back, his spear had been broken in half.

"Damn. Of course, that wouldn't have happened if I were using my real weapon," Lancer scowled. "That twig was just a spare my Master made for me. But I'm not so foolhardy to press my attack now." He shrugged. "Besides, my ten minutes are now up, so let's call it a night, little lady."

With a leap, Lancer burst through Garden's glass roof, and then disappeared into the night.

"Are you alright, Master?" Shielder asked, bending down. "I see that you are injured, but you should be alright as long as we clean and bind the wounds quickly. Can you stand? If not, let me help you."

Ayaka looked up at her savior. Shielder's short hair had a rosy tint to it and was disheveled, though perhaps it was just that way because of the battle. She wore armor that matched her shield over most of her body, though the upper arms and legs were uncovered, possibly to aid mobility. A long, thin sword rested in a scabbard on her hip, but it was clearly just a sidearm. But most reassuringly to Ayaka, there was unmistakable kindness in Shielder's eyes and a certain innocence that was rarely seen.

"This… has to be a mistake… I'm… I'm not a Master! That would mean… I'd have to fight!" Ayaka stuttered.

Shielder glanced down at Ayaka's chest, noticing something glowing faintly red under the torn blouse that was not blood. "Forgive me, but those Command Spells are proof that you are my Master. Now please, Master, let me help you."

Ayaka saw no point in resisting. She let Shielder carry her to the corner of the Garden that served as her workshop. Ayaka made a point of keeping first aid supplies on hand due to her habit of cutting herself instead of sacrificing the pigeons, and several of the herbs in the Garden had healing properties. Before long, Shielder had treated Ayaka's injuries, and while her leg still throbbed, the bleeding had stopped, and she would be able to walk on her own.

"Is that better, Master?"

"Yes… thank you."

"You do not need to thank me, Master. Henceforth, it is my duty to be your shield." An embarrassed expression crossed Shielder's face. "Oh, I forgot - what is your name, Master?"

"Sajyou Ayaka."

"I regret that I cannot tell you my own name at this time, Lady Sajyou. I sense that another pair of Servants are approaching us."

"No way! I can't fight now!"

"Have faith, Lady Sajyou. I shall be by your side. As long as your heart does not falter, we shall face any obstacle together. And while my heart remains true, my shield shall never break."

Ayaka nodded. "Okay." She had no choice, did she? Even if she was to seek sanctuary in the church after this, and relinquish her Command Spells, she'd still have to get past the approaching Servants.

XxX

"What is the meaning of this, Sajyou?" Toshaka Rin snapped. "You told me very clearly that you had no intention of being a Master! There had better be a good explanation for this!"

"Sajyou-san?" Emiya Shirou asked in shock, a blonde man wearing a poncho that poorly concealed armor at his side. "First Tohsaka, and now you're a Magus too?"

At the sight of Emiya Shirou, Ayaka felt righteous anger rising within her. "Don't play dumb, Emiya! How could you not know that I was Magus? You were raised by the Magus Killer himself, Emiya Kiritsugu! He had to have told you about these stupid Grail Wars!" She clenched her left hand into a fist, but with her other hand she pointed her ring at Shirou's heart. If he or his Servant made a move toward her….

"Whoa… hold on there, Sajyou-san… I don't want to fight you… And what's this about…"

"…you knowing there was another magus living on my territory for all these years?" Rin cut in.

"I had to keep quiet! Kiritsugu would have killed me, just like he killed my father and my sister!"

"My father wouldn't have killed anyone! He wanted to be -"

"Shut up!" Ayaka shouted, firing a volley of feathers at Shirou. His Servant reacted immediately, tossing the poncho aside and intercepting the strike, almost too fast to be tracked by the eye, with… an invisible sword? There was a shimmering in the air, and the Servant's stance suggested that he was holding a weapon, but she couldn't see it. Shielder moved protectively in front of Ayaka, as Rin leveled a finger at her, the energy of Gandr starting to glow around it. Even with Shielder to protect her, Ayaka knew she was outmatched. But for some reason, Shirou's Servant did not make a move to strike her or Shielder.

"What's the matter, Saber?" Rin asked Shirou's Servant, Gandr still at her fingertips. "She just tried to kill your Master!"

"Sajyou-san! What's gotten into you?" Shirou cried in disbelief. "I don't want to fight you!"

"Kiritsgusu kidnapped me! He killed my father and my sister! And…. And…." Ayaka choked on her words. She had been going to say, "took you away from me!" but that was just too embarrassing, especially in front of Rin.

"How can you say that? My father saved both of our lives! When he found me in the rubble, he was already carrying you out too!"

Ayaka grimaced. As far as Kotomine could be trusted, what Shirou was saying was true. Sajyou Hiroki had somehow, in spite of his grave injuries, managed to stand again and carry her beyond the initial conflagration at the Civic Center before finally succumbing to his injuries. Thus, Kotomine had been able to recover the Sajyou Magic Crest from Hiroki and transplant it onto Ayaka. Kiritsugu had then found her amid the rubble, and brought both her and Shirou to the hospital for treatment. Ayaka could never understand why Kiritsugu had done it after taking everything else away from her. Kotomine had suggested that Kiritsugu had a change of heart, and since Kiritsugu was a new man now, she should find it in her heart to forgive him. But Ayaka had never been able to forgive Kiritsugu, not even after he had died, and Kotomine made her feel that her failure to do so was her own sin.

"If I may, Master," Saber said, lowering his sword. Shirou nodded, and Saber then addressed her directly. "Please calm down, Ayaka. None of us wish to fight you, and nor do I wish to raise my sword against your Servant."

"Huh?" Something wasn't right here.

"Hey! How did you know she was named Ayaka?" Rin demanded, ever quick on the uptake, even as she let Gandr fade. "That's impossible, unless you're some kind of mind reader!"

"I was summoned by your sister in the last Holy Grail War," he continued, still addressing Ayaka. "While I cannot remember much of it, I am truly sorry that I was unable to protect her or your father. I honestly expected that if I were to be summoned again, it would be as your Servant, but I am glad to see that a knight of peerless virtue answered your call." He turned his head back toward Shirou. "You should know that I still consider it my duty, on my honor as a knight, to see that she remains safe. While I shall also protect you to the best of my ability, if you wish to order me to cause her harm, you will have to use a Command Spell."

"I wasn't planning to fight her," Shirou said, still a bit shaken.

"This doesn't make any sense!" Rin complained. "Servants aren't supposed to retain any of their memories when they're summoned anew!"

"Mine are… unusual circumstances," Saber replied.

"Fine. But now… what class is your Servant, Sajyou?" Rin asked, her brow furrowing. "It can't be Saber or Archer… nor Caster, and it doesn't look like an Assassin. It's not a Berserker… so that would leave Rider? But…"

"I am Shielder."

"What."

XxX

Rin was despondent as the three of them made their way toward Kotomine Church. Not only had Shirou, a third-rate Magus who didn't even know about the Holy Grail War, managed to summon the best Servant, but Ayaka had entered the War and somehow summoned an irregular class.

The three of them had agreed to a truce for now. Ayaka wanted to go to the Church to relinquish her Command Spells (Rin sneered at this, asking if she had any pride as a Magus), Shirou wanted an explanation of the War from Kotomine, and Rin said she didn't trust Ayaka not to try to kill Shirou again if she left the two of them alone. Rather than seeming disappointed in her, Shielder said she would support any decision Ayaka made, as long as it was made with conviction. But now that she didn't have to fight Saber, Shielder seemed considerably happier, and tried to lighten the mood. Clearly the two knew each other, but neither would speak on the matter. Indeed, Saber didn't speak much at all on the walk to the church, with just a brooding, almost sorrowful expression on his face. Then again, to him, it was probably just hours ago that he had failed to save Sajyou Manaka and Sajyou Hiroki.

Ayaka still felt wary next to Shirou, but with Rin testifying to his ignorance of even basic spells, for the first time, Ayaka was forced to consider that maybe she had been wrong about Shirou. It seemed the Magus Killer had taught him very little, except for a little Structural Analysis and Reinforcement, which he admitted all too freely for a proper Magus. As for how Shirou claimed he had gotten involved in all of this, he had been staying late at school, helping the Archery club, when he had seen Rin's Servant fighting with another, who Rin suspected to be Caster. When she saw him, Caster had set her familiars on him, which had dealt him what should have been a mortal wound. But when he came too, the wound had been healed, and he found a pendant lying nearby him. It did not escape Ayaka's notice that Tohsaka blushed when Shirou mentioned the pendant. Obviously, she was the one who had healed Shirou. Jewel Magecraft was a Tohsaka speciality. Did Rin have feelings for him too, or was there another reason? Anyways, Shirou said Caster had followed him home when she realized he wasn't dead, he stumbled into a magic circle in his tool shed, and he inadvertently summoned Saber. Really, the resemblance to her own story was uncanny, minus the whole not dying when he was killed part, but even that had been a close call for her.

Ayaka felt still more on edge as they neared the church. Was the diminutive silver-haired Master still lying in wait for them? But the girl was nowhere to be seen. And so, they reached the Church a little before midnight.

XxX

"My, my… I never expected Ayaka to come to my church with son of Kiritsugu Emiya," Kotomine said with a smile. "And I see you've brought my other wayward charge with you too. It's very unbecoming of both of you to ignore my calls, Rin and Ayaka. I am your legal guardian, after all."

"We don't have time for that, Kirei," Rin replied curtly. "Emiya-kun here has no idea what he's gotten himself into, and Sajyou-san is here to reliquinish her Command Spells after summoning an irregular Servant."

"An irregular Servant? What class of Servant did Ayaka summon?"

"Shielder," Ayaka replied.

"It appears you are a further anomaly than that, Ayaka. You are the eighth Master to enter this Holy Grail War, with the eighth Servant. This is most interesting."

"No way!" Rin shot back. "Everyone knows that there are only seven Masters and seven Servants in the Holy Grail War."

"Except Kiritusugu's son here, though I suppose he does now," Kotomine agreed. "But like any system, there are exceptions."

"What do you mean, Kirei?"

"Under ordinary circumstances, the Grail only allows seven Servants to be summoned. However, your ancestors, along with the other Founding Families, agreed to establish a Reserve System as part of the Greater Fuyuki Grail. While the Reserve System will deplete the leyline of Fuyki, it permits the summoning of up to an additional seven Servants. You see, the Founding Families were concerned that all or most of the Servants and their Masters might choose to join forces with each other."

"That defeats the point of the Grail Wars! And are you telling me there could be another six Servants out there?"

"Perhaps. Be that as it may, the Reserve System ensures that the battle will continue, and that a worthy Master shall be found to claim the Holy Grail."

"That doesn't explain the irregular class though! Whoever heard of Shielder?"

"There are several more classes than the standard seven recorded within the Great Grail System, Rin. Shielder is but one of them. You might consider them prototype classes, which the Founding Families, for one reason or the other, chose not to implement into a regular Holy Grail War, but are still there, waiting for a Heroic Spirit to occupy them. Though clearly, something has gone astray if not only the Shielder class is being used, but there are one or more additional Servants in this War. As the Supervisor, I thank you for bringing this to my attention."

Shirou finally spoke up. "Umm… I don't mean to be rude or anything, but I still have no idea of what is going on here."

XxX

Shirou finally was brought up to speed on the basics of the Holy Grail Wars, but until then, Ayaka doubted anyone could have faked cluelessness that well. He didn't seem sold on the idea of fighting either.

"I wonder, Emiya Shirou, if you know what really caused that fire, ten years ago?" Kotomine asked.

"You don't mean…"

"As I'm sure Ayaka knows all too well, Kiritsugu Emiya, the Magus Killer, was one of the last surviving Masters in the last war, and he was within the Fuyuki Civic Center, which was the epicenter of the Great Fuyuki Fire. The Holy Grail had manifested there, and - "

"Are you saying my father caused that catastrophe? I don't believe you!"

"It is of course, impossible to say what really happened that night in the Civic Center," Kotomine continued. "There are only two surviving witnesses who were in the room where the Grail manifested, and both of them are standing before me. Of course, one of them forgot everything from before the fire, and the other's account remains incomplete. "

"I was told we were both survivors of the fire, but was I…"

"Yes, you were there with me in the Civic Center, back before you were an Emiya," Ayaka nodded, saying the last word with distaste. "I couldn't tell you who you were before though; I barely knew you." She certainly wouldn't say that she had wished she had more time to get to know him before the fire. "What I do remember is that someone made a wish on the Grail… it was there, over the stage… there was this black muck coming out it, and…." She trailed off, the memory of a dark tentacle slashing out at her father, screams of the other victims who had been torn apart and dissolved appearing vividly before her. Her heart raced, her skin became clammy with sweat, and she began trembling, feeling weak and nauseous.

"Sajyou-san! Are you okay?"

Blinking, Ayaka looked up. Apparently, she had fainted for a moment. Shirou had caught her, preventing her from falling to the floor. A blush covered her face, and she quickly pushed herself out of his arms and back onto her feet. It was pathetic. Just earlier that day, she had told Shirou not to dredge up the past, but she had been the one to have the worse reaction… she could almost see Rin shaking her head in disapproval.

"So what is your decision, Emiya Shirou?" Kotomine asked. "Will you follow in your father's footsteps and attempt to claim the Holy Grail? Or will you throw the greatest of opportunities away, and resign when the battle has barely begun, like Ayaka here? Of course, should you choose the latter, I will guarantee your safety as well."

"No good can come from the Grail!" Ayaka shouted. "I saw what came of it with my own eyes!"

"Soon, this will not concern you, Ayaka," Kotomine chided her. "Such a catastrophe may occur yet again if an unworthy one touches the Grail, but you should let Emiya Shirou make his own choice."

"There's no choice to be made," Shirou replied with a conviction that surprised Ayaka. "If this Holy Grail is as dangerous as you say it is, I'll have to put a stop to the fighting before anyone else gets hurt. Even if what you say is true, and my father was this Magus Killer, that doesn't change what I saw. The sorrow on his face as he carried a small girl, and desperately looked for other survivors. And when he found me… he looked like he was the one who had been saved. That's not the sort of man who deliberately causes a tragedy. Even if all of what I thought I knew about my father was a lie, that doesn't change the ideals he passed on to me."

"I could tell you any number of stories about atrocities that Emiya Kiritsugu performed as the Magus Killer," Kotomine with a smirk. "The downing of an airliner, the bombing of the Fuyuki Hyatt hotel, sacrificing anything and anyone if it would save the world. _That_ was your father's ideal. But it is as you say… Kiritsugu was a changed man after he rescued you and Ayaka. If you believe that you can succeed where Kiritsugu failed, then take pride in your path, and rejoice, for your wish will be granted. After all, to be a hero, you must first have a clear evil to defeat."

Shirou clenched his fist, but said nothing.

"Now go, Emiya Shirou, but if you have any parting words for Ayaka here, you should say them first. In a moment, I will remove her Command Spells, and then she will remain in this church until the end of the Holy Grail War. It is not for Masters who wish to continue their fight to seek sanctuary here."

"No." Ayaka said in a small voice.

"Excuse me?" Kotomine said, looking quizzically at her.

She reached up and adjusted her glasses. "I'll fight."

"Don't tell me you were moved by Emiya's little speech there?"

"Fighting for people I don't know is stupid, and I have no wish for the Grail. But I've just been running away, haven't I?" Really, she couldn't stand the thought of one even less skilled than herself choosing to fight while she cowered in the church with Kotomine, especially if that person was Emiya Shirou. She was trying to sound strong, and again she cursed her nature as a braggart. She didn't really feel any braver than she had before, but her ego wouldn't allow her to take her words back now.

"I will look forward to seeing what you accomplish then," Kotomine said with a smile. "Then leave with Emiya Shirou, Rin and my blessing, Sajyou Ayaka."

"Save your blessings, fake priest" Rin said irritably.

'That reminds me though," Ayaka said, thinking back to the graveyard. "Another Master approached me earlier and said he was from the Church. How can…"

"Rest assured, Ayaka, I will not show favoritism to any side in the Holy Grail War. As the Supervisor, I am required to be an impartial observer."

She didn't trust Kotomine's promise, but knew she wouldn't get anything from Kirei. Nodding, she took a deep breath, and walked out of the church to rejoin her Servant.

 **Author's Note:**

 **The Reserve System originates from Fate/Apocrypha, which establishes it as part of the Fuyuki Holy Grail System. Those who are familiar with Fate/Prototype might be able to surmise the aberrant conditions that have led to its activation, allowing an unusually high number of Servants in the War. Those who are not, rejoice, for you will eventually learn for yourselves.**


	3. The Strongest Enemy - Aftermath

Shielder seemed happy that Ayaka had returned from the church, and Saber nodded approvingly as well. When Ayaka asked Shielder if she had been concerned that the contract between them would be abolished, Shielder simply smiled gently and replied that she had faith in her Master.

Ayaka walked with Shirou and Rin for a time. When they got to an intersection, Rin started making a big deal about how it was time for them to go their separate ways, and that they would be enemies going forward, but Ayaka couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. They hadn't seen the girl in the purple coat on the way to Kotomine Church, but it was past midnight now…. And no sooner than she had thought of that, she felt killing intent from just a little further down the road. There was a small giggle as the silver-haired girl in the purple coat emerged from the fog, a lumbering dark giant behind her.

"Good evening, onii-chan. I see Sajyou is with you too. I'm pleased to see that both of you have summoned your Servants. You even have Rin." She curtseyed, and smiled innocently. "My name is Illyasviel von Einzbern. I'd say you can call me Illya, but you'll all be dead in a few minutes."

"You're going to take on three Servants at once?" Rin asked.

"That's a nice try at a bluff Rin, but even at a glance, you know they're no match for my Berserker. Besides, your Servant isn't even here right now. Perhaps your Servant is already wounded?" Rin grimaced, which was as good as a confirmation, and Illya continued talking. "I wasn't expecting Sajyou to have summoned an irregular class, but I guess she lives up to her sister's reputation."

"No- I… it was…," Ayaka tried to protest.

"Well, it makes no difference. Now, get them Berserker!"

The giant lunged forward with incredible speed, bellowing incoherently. In its hands, it held a massive stone blade, and in a moment it would….

CLANG! Shielder interposed herself between the Masters and Berserker, raising her shield to absorb the brunt of Berserker's blow. She nearly buckled under its force, and the pavement around her cratered, but she held firm, gritting her teeth with determination. Saber darted around to strike with his invisible sword, but Berserker's reflexes were just as fast, and it was Saber who had to parry.

Ayaka felt paralyzed with terror. There was no way they could beat something as strong as Berserker! But next to her, it seemed that Shirou was steeling himself to jump into the fray.

"Don't even think about it, Emiya!" Rin shouted over the din. "You can't do anything to help them! You'll get killed the moment you try!"

While Saber and Shielder's fight against Berserker was two against one, it was still going poorly. Shielder's defensive strength was incredible, and her mere presence seemed to reduce the force of Berserker's blows against Saber, but Berserker was far quicker than her. Showing unexpected acrobatic prowess, Berserker backflipped over Shielder and swung around to hit her back with the side of his blade, sending her flying.

"Shielder!"

"Hmm… seems that your Servant wasn't so tough after all, Sajyou. You disappoint me," Illya pouted.

Shielder struggled to rise, leaving Saber to fight Berserker on his own. Ayaka knew she had to do something. If she could heal her Servant while Saber kept Berserker occupied…. she wasn't the most skilled at it, but if she could do that much…. And so Ayaka began to dash toward Shielder, trying to ignore the throbbing from the wounds on her leg.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Rin called.

"Stop her, Berserker!" Illya commanded.

Berserker roared, leaping high into the air over Saber and toward Ayaka. Shielder was rising to move toward her Master's defense, but injured as she was, Shielder would never make it in time. Futilely, Ayaka spun around to fire a plume of black feathers at Berserker, but they had no effect whatsoever against the giant.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Berserker's massive blade descended toward her. This was it. She had thought she was dead before when Lancer had her at his mercy, but this time, she really was going to die! Her miserable life flashed before her eyes. If only she hadn't been so prideful, she would be safe in the church right now, no longer a Master. As much as she missed her family, she still didn't want to die! She was so stupid!

"AYAKA!"

"Huh?" A voice was calling out to her, and a shape was flying at her from the corner of her vision. It slammed into her, pushing her out of harm's way. She landed on the pavement, scraping her arms and knees, but it didn't seem that she'd broken anything. Her vision was blurry, both from the shock of it all and because her glasses had fallen off. Instinctively, she quickly reached for glasses and put them back on, but the lenses were cracked from the impact. Still, she could make out the scene before her clearly at this distance.

Blood splattered everywhere as Berserker landed, but Ayaka felt no pain. Instead, she saw Emiya Shirou collapsing to the ground, a massive wound in his back. He had nearly been cut in two.

There was no way anyone could survive that.

Emiya Shirou had just given his life for her.

He had given his life for useless Sajyou Ayaka, who had spent ten years hating him.

For what? She couldn't outrun Berserker. In another few moments, the giant would kill her anyway, and Shirou's sacrifice would be for naught. She felt white-hot anger at the injustice of it all.

Suddenly, Berserker howled in pain as Saber's sword impaled him in the side. Ayaka's mouth hung wide. Had Saber just managed to kill Berserker? If so, it was a pyrrhic victory. Without his Master, Saber would no longer be able to sustain his existence in the world. Saber had to know this, but he seemed relieved that he had at least been able to protect her after all, if not his Master.

Curiously, Illya didn't seem perturbed by the fact that her Servant had sustained a fatal injury. Rather, she seemed more in shock that Shirou had thrown himself into the path of Berserker's attack.

"Why did he do that?" Illya gasped.

Berserker groaned. His wound seemed to be closing up, and a deranged light was returning to his eyes.

Illya's expression turned to one of annoyance. "Hmph! While I wasn't expecting you to be able to take one of Berserker's lives, I'm not in the mood for fighting anymore. I'll consider it a fair trade, considering that Saber will disappear soon. But if you follow us, or we meet again, you're dead. Come, Berserker!"

The giant shimmered and dematerialized. Ayaka's hand with the ring trembled as Illya turned around, her rage not yet fully subsided, but she knew better than to attempt a sneak attack that would only serve to bring Berserker back upon them.

Soon, Illya had vanished into the misty night. Rin was busy berating Shirou's lifeless body, and Saber looked on gravely. In spite of his earlier relief at saving Ayaka from Berserker, another failure at protecting his Master had to be weighing on him heavily. He hadn't started to fade yet, but there was no doubt that it would be soon. Shielder had managed to limp over to them, still battered from the fight with Berserker, and seemed at a loss for words.

Ayaka knelt by Shirou. His eyes were still wide open with pain. Trying to fight off tears and failing, she reached out a hand to close Shirou's eyes, and… wait? What was that she felt? Something was tickling her hand. Shirou was still breathing!

"He… he… he's still alive!" Ayaka practically choked on the words.

"Wait, no way!" Rin said in utter disbelief. "But he'll die from loss of blood! Even if I had a large enough jewel, I couldn't heal a wound that big!"

"Rin! You have to do something! I can't do this on my own!" She was frantically trying to do anything that could help stabilize Shirou, but if Rin was overwhelmed by the scope of the injury, then her own efforts truly were futile.

"Stop that! You don't know what you're doing! It won't work, and you'll just burn yourself out! Besides… he's supposed to be an enemy, right?"

"He… he… saved my life…" But Rin was right that she couldn't keep it up for long, and soon Ayaka's feeble attempts at healing spells petered out.

"I'm sorry…" she managed weakly. How utterly inadequate her words were. Shirou was still going to die because of her. And yet…

What happened next was incredible. Shirou's wound began to close, all on its own, slowly regenerating organs, bone, muscle, and skin, and judging from how he was starting to regain color, his blood was regenerating as well.

"What's going on?" Ayaka asked. "I… I didn't do that, did I?"

"I don't know, but don't just kneel there gawking!" Rin yelled, assuming command of the situation. "We'll carry Emiya-kun to somewhere safe, and then we'll see what else we can do about those wounds!"

"You were the one calling him an enemy just a minute ago!"

"You're really one to talk about treating Emiya as an enemy, Sajyou! Besides, I don't like being indebted to others. He did get Illya to call off Berserker, and I owe him for that too. I don't know how, but it looks like he can actually be saved, so, I'll settle that debt now, and then we can go back to being enemies."

XxX

Miraculously, the most serious damage had already healed by the time they got Shirou back to his residence in Miyama Town, at least as far as they could tell from the outside, so there was little to do but to bandage him up and set him down to rest in his bedroom. Though they couldn't help but worry for him, Saber's continued existence was testament to the fact that Shirou was definitely still alive for now, somehow.

"We were completely outmatched by Berserker," Rin said angrily. She frowned at Saber. "If you hadn't seriously injured my Archer, we'd have had a better chance!"

"I am sorry for the misunderstanding. I thought your Servant was a threat to my Master, so I responded accordingly."

"He's a danger to himself!" Rin snapped. "He should have known how lucky he was to be alive after the first time he got killed tonight! Then he gets himself killed a second time in one night, for another Master no less, and doesn't die? It makes no sense!" She shook her head in frustration. "So how's your Servant, Sajyou?"

"Shielder's in spirit form right now," Ayaka replied, feeling drained by the events of the night, holding the frame of her broken glasses in her hands. She had been trying to repair them, but exhausted as she was she could barely manage such a simple task for a Magus. "She's resting and recuperating. She says my supply of mana is adequate, and that her wounds are not severe. She should be fully recovered and ready to fight at her peak performance again in a day or two."

"So only Emiya's Servant emerges from this mess mostly unscathed! And speaking of which, do you know why Emiya can heal like that, Saber?"

Saber shrugged. "I could hazard a guess that it's related to the circumstances under which I was summoned, but I do not think it prudent to say more at this time, lest I am wrong or an enemy be eavesdropping upon us."

"Some knight you are," Ayaka said grumpily. "You look the part, but you failed my sister and you almost failed Shirou!"

"Of course, you are correct," Saber said, his tone self-deprecating. "Your sister was one of my greatest failures as a knight, if not the greatest. And both you and Shirou were caught up in that madness at the end of the last war." He looked up, smiling gently. "That is why I will definitely protect both of you this time. And as I said before, even if Shirou is my own Master this time, I rest easier knowing that Shielder is your Servant, Ayaka."

"You're not fighting for anything else?" Ayaka asked suspiciously. "As a Servant, you must have a wish for the Grail."

"I did, once. But someone helped me realize that it's much more important to protect the world that and those in it, so they can move on to a brighter future, than vainly seeking to change it through a miracle. In this sense, the whole war is an impossibly stupid thing."

"But that itself is stupid, fighting for others!" Ayaka retorted. "It almost got your Master killed! I didn't ask him to be saved from Berserker!"

"And yet he did it anyways, without a thought of reward."

"More like without thinking at all!" Ayaka huffed.

"But what are you fighting for then, Ayaka?" Saber asked. She opened her mouth to answer, but Saber held up a finger. "Don't answer that now, Ayaka. You surely have a lot on your mind now, and there must be questions you want to ask me as well. But like my Master, you need rest. It's very late, and the days ahead will not be easy. And even if you don't know now, I'm sure you will find something worth fighting for."

Saber was right of course. It was past one in the morning. Fortunately, tomorrow was a Sunday, which meant there was no school.

"We should just crash here for the night," Rin said.

"We can't just stay at his house uninvited!" Ayaka protested.

"I'd say he owes both of us one after we lugged him all the way here. Besides, you don't want to have to head back out there tonight, do you? It should be safe in the morning though. Masters and Servants generally don't attack then; there are too many potential witnesses around during the daytime."

"I suppose you're right," Ayaka conceded.

 **Author's Note:**

 **Shirou's rule for being a hero of justice #2: Always save the girl. She's probably the heroine for the current route.**


	4. Alliance - Identities

What an awful dream…. She had gotten involved in the Holy Grail War, nearly been killed twice in one night, and Emiya had…

"Good morning, Master," a voice said from above her.

Ayaka's eyes shot open.

"I hope you do not mind me calling you that now that you have accepted our contract," Shielder said, smiling, but still slightly blurry to Ayaka.

"Shouldn't you be in spirit form?" Ayaka asked groggily, still not entirely sure if she was dreaming or not. Out of habit, she reached for where her glasses should have been, but she found her fingers passed over a matted floor, like one would find in a traditional Japanese house, not the western-styled one in which she lived. Then, when she found her glasses, the lenses were still cracked. This definitely wasn't a dream. Everything that had happened last night had been real, and she had woken up inside Emiya Shirou's residence.

"I will return to it shortly," Shielder replied. "I just wanted to check that you were well, Master."

"I'm not," Ayaka said brusquely. She shook her head. "I'm sorry. I get that like that without my glasses. You did save me from Lancer last night, and then you fought against Berserker too…"

At least she had the wherewithal to fix her glasses now. She pricked herself, and placed a single drop of blood containing her magical energy on each lens. It was absorbed into the glass and the cracks vanished.

"I believe Rin and Saber are waiting for you in the dining room, and Shirou should be awake shortly. I will take my leave now, but if you need me, I will answer."

Ayaka nodded, letting Shielder dematerialize. As her Servant had said, Rin was already there, speaking to someone. "It's not the best tea you had to work with, but I'm impressed nonetheless. You're almost as good at this sort of thing as my Archer."

"It was the least I could do to show you proper hospitality, Tohsaka-san," Saber replied. He was dressed in some of Shirou's spare clothes, and had an apron on. Turning, he saw Ayaka entering the room. "Good morning, Ayaka. I've prepared tea for you and Shirou too."

Ayaka took a seat and let Saber pour the tea for her. It was warm, and though Rin was right that the tea was nothing special in of itself, she could feel the care that had gone into preparing it.

Shirou appeared a few minutes later. "Huh? Tohsaka-san… Sajyou-san? What are you doing here?" Then his eyes flickered over to Saber. Oh… that's right… I…"

"You were incredibly stupid last night," Rin cut in. "Need I remind you that Sajyou-san here is an enemy of yours, just as I am now?"

"That's not much of an enemy then…. Really, I have to thank the two of you…"

"Argh! You just don't get it, Emiya-kun! You can't go on thinking of us as being friends if you want to survive in this Grail War! I couldn't attack you in good conscience last night when you didn't know what was going on, but from now you and Sajyou are fair game to me!" She put her tea down and stood up. "I see that I continue to stay here, I'll only be reinforcing that misconception of yours, so I'll show myself out now."

"Umm… Tohsaka?"

But she had already left.

"Are we really going to be enemies with Tohsaka-san?"

Ayaka shrugged, stirring her tea to avoid eye contact with him. "Maybe. She's far more a Magus than I ever could be. But she is kinder than she lets on."

There was an awkward silence. Ayaka finally broke it. "Why, Em-… no. May I call you Shirou?" He nodded. "Why did you save me from Berserker last night, Shirou?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Tohsaka-san had a point, Shirou. I'm supposed to be an enemy Master. Until last night, I _was_ your enemy. I even tried to kill you."

"Sajyou-san!"

She hung her head in shame. "There's no denying what I did. I was aiming to kill, and if Saber hadn't stood between us, I would be a murderer now."

"You were frightened."

"You can't forgive me that easily for something like that. I'm the worst sort of person. And that still doesn't explain why you saved me. Did you know you would heal like that?"

"Well, no, I - "

She grimaced. "So you threw away your life on a moment's notice for someone as worthless as me, and it's only because of a miracle that you survived at all."

"Well yeah, I guess that sounds kind of dumb when you put it that way. But I don't regret it all, Sajyou-san. I saved you, didn't I? And you're not worthless either, Sajyou. If anything, I'd be the worthless one if I couldn't save you."

"That kind of thinking's not normal. As Tohsaka-san was trying to say, you should look out for yourself first, especially now that you're a Master, and it's a matter of life and death."

"I can tell that's not all you want to say to him," Saber said, suddenly snatching her glasses away from her.

"Hey! Give those back!" Her cheeks flushed red, and she furiously reached for her glasses, but Saber pulled them out of reach.

"It'll be best if you get this off your chest now," he told her. "I'll give them back when you're done."

"Oh, fine! How stupid do you get, Shirou? It's not just this, either! You never left me alone at school, and I never see you doing anything for yourself! You're always volunteering around school, to the point that you're just letting other people take advantage of you? What's wrong with you?"

"See, don't you feel better now, Ayaka?" Saber said, returning her glasses to her.

"You sounded like Tohsaka there," Shirou said, taken aback. Ayaka just glared at him, and then put back on her glasses. "But for as long as I remember, I've always been that way. I know you don't like my old man, and its hard to reconcile what you and Kotomine told me about Kiritsugu being the Magus Killer and all that with the old man I knew. But I do know that he failed to become a hero of justice. He said that it was a limited-time thing, and that as you become an adult, it becomes hard to call yourself one. As much as I don't want to admit it, maybe that's what my old man meant all along. But before he died, I promised him that I would become a hero of justice in his stead."

"A hero of justice?" Ayaka asked with faint incredulity. Even the term itself was childish.

"I don't know what you saw of the fire. My first memory is running away, thinking only of my own survival. There were others who were trying to escape, but they were dying all around me. After a while, I stopped running, and tried to help some of them. They died too. For some reason, only I had survived. So I tried to get out that inferno, so that it would mean something. But my strength failed me. I couldn't run any longer, and I could only wait for death. And then, Kiritisugu found me, carrying you on his shoulders. You were already unconscious. When he saved me, my old man seemed like some kind of superhero, so I wanted to save others like he had done, to be a hero of justice. I already should have died that day, so if I can save just one other person, I don't mind dying."

The story of the fire was clearly difficult for Shirou to retell, though he didn't break down like last time, and his eyes shone with a light that wasn't there before as he talked about being a hero. Ayaka still couldn't help but frown when he mentioned Kiritsugu, though she at least felt she understood Shirou and why he idolized the man a bit better. But that didn't make it right. And her heart clenched when Shirou said his first memory was of running away… running away from her, abandoning her at the first opportunity when the monstrous thing that had been spewed from the Grail was distracted. Then again, if he had stayed, he would have almost certainly been killed, so she knew that she really shouldn't blame him for that. Shirou hadn't been in his right mind at the time anyways, though he had still recognized her before fleeing. "Ay….ak…a" was the only coherent thing he could say when faced with the horrors inside the Civic Center.

"Sajyou-san?"

"It's nothing, Shirou."

"Anyways, I didn't realize that I was making you uncomfortable because of my old man. If I seemed to focus more on you than others at school, it was because you always looked so sad. You were the only other kid who survived the fire, but a part of you still hadn't been saved, so I wanted to relieve your burden however I could and see you smile."

Ayaka looked away from Shirou. If she didn't know now that he would throw his life away for any random stranger because of his own sense of worthlessness, that would have sounded almost like a love confession. She wasn't ready for that. She no longer hated him, but he still wasn't really her Shirou… that Shirou had died in the fire. It was just too confusing for her now.

She stood up. "Thank you for saving my life, but I've imposed on you and your Servant for too long, Shirou. I should be going now. As long as you leave me alone, we won't be enemies."

"Wait, Sajyou-san!

She paused.

"Illya and Berserker are still out there. You can't beat them on your own!"

"Nor can you, Shirou."

"Exactly! We should work together again!"

"I don't want you throwing your life away for me again, and I'm not going to throw my life away for people I don't know either. I have the feeling that I'd just end up having to protect you from yourself."

"Don't be like that, Sajyou. You heard Saber last night. He'll protect your life just as he would my own. Though I really do need your help. I've had the basics explained, but so much of this stuff is beyond me. I'd be lost without either you or Rin as an ally."

" _We would benefit greatly from an alliance_ ," Shielder spoke directly into Ayaka's mind. " _And as I said last night, I would personally vouch for Saber's honor and valor. Reckless as Shirou may be, he seems to be cut from the same cloth, and you would be hard-pressed to find a better friend in this War."_

"Fine," she relented.

Shirou stood, and held out his hand. After a moment, she reached out to shake it, sealing the pact between them.

XxX

Ayaka ended up staying for longer than she had originally planned. Shirou insisted on making breakfast since it was his responsibility as the master of the house. He barely seemed affected by the injuries he had suffered at all, and soon appetizing smells were wafting over from the kitchen. When he brought the meal over, there was steamed rice with natto and soy sauce, miso soup with carrots, shiitake mushrooms, and onions, garnished with parsley, and grilled fish for each of them. Much like Shirou's residence, the meal was very traditionally Japanese, and it was expertly prepared and arranged. Ayaka couldn't help but feel her stomach growling, and she felt her mouth watering. While the portion size of each dish was small, it was still a far larger meal than what she usually prepared for herself each morning, and when she put the food into her mouth….Mmmm! It was so good, she had to stop herself from greedily devouring it in front of Shirou, which would have been very un-ladylike.

"I think Ayaka likes your cooking, Master," Saber in that teasing tone of his.

Her cheeks went red. "That's not fair," she protested meekly. "You've almost finished yourself."

"You don't want to go into battle on an empty stomach," he said with a small shrug and a disarming smile that made it hard to be upset with him.

Ayaka thanked Shirou for the meal, but at last she had to get going. She hadn't been back to her house since the night before, and there was plenty of damage that needed to be fixed. She felt a bit anxious about heading back, the idea that there could be some Servant lying in wait for her crossing her mind. She was certain that if she asked him to, Shirou would accompany her with Saber. But he had already done too much for her, and if she couldn't take back her own home, what good would any of it be?

Fortunately, she had worried herself over nothing; the house was deserted when she arrived. The broken windows to the living room were clear from the outside, but Kotomine probably would have made arrangements for it to be covered up as just a bit of vandalism, keeping unwanted attention to a minimum. Of course, the damage was more significant inside, but at least the windows and Garden's roof could be fixed easily enough with the same spell she had used to repair her glasses earlier. Shielder materialized herself to help clean up as well.

"So who is Saber?" Ayaka asked Shielder as they worked.

"He was my liege in life," Shielder replied. "I still have the utmost respect for him, as a brave knight and a just king, though you are my Master now, Ayaka."

"He's King Arthur, isn't he?'

Shielder gave her an amused look. "If I may ask, how did you figure that out, Master?"

"He said he was my sister's Servant in the last war. Manaka loved hearing stories about the heroes of legend, especially King Arthur and his knights, so father would read them to us when he wasn't busy. You just said Saber was a king, and I can't think of any king my sister would have chosen to summon other than King Arthur."

"You are of course correct, Master. Though I recommend that you do not share that information with Shirou yet."

"Why shouldn't he know who is own Servant is?"

"As he lacks training as a Magus, Shirou's magical resistance is quite low. An enemy would easily be able to take that knowledge from his mind if they chose to do so, and in turn that would put our alliance at a disadvantage."

"But really…. Saber is King Arthur? Teasing me like that… it's not how I'd imagine him at all."

"You thought King Arthur would be more serious? He can be, particularly where his honor as a knight and king is on the line. But he couldn't live like that all the time. Do you know why he made his table round? It was to show that he viewed his knights as his equals, and he was one of us. He was like another father to me, but even he would have his own misadventures from time to time. His teasing just shows he's taken a liking to you."

"What?" Her heart fluttered. Why would King Arthur have such an interest in her? Seeking to change the subject, she said, "Wait… from what you were just saying there, you were a knight of the Round Table too…"

Shielder nodded. "Yes. My true name is Sir Galahad."

"You're joking, right?"

"I would never lie to you, Master."

"I would have heard from the stories my father read to my sister if one of the knights of the Round Table was a woman."

"Legends have a way of getting the details wrong," Shielder replied simply. "And Merlin did encourage that," she said with a small chuckle. "Before my birth, it was prophesied that Sir Lancelot's child would become the finest knight in the world. That I was a daughter instead of a son had no bearing on the prophecy. When I was finally knighted, I was treated like another of the guys." There was a wistful look on Shielder's face, but Ayaka decided not to press further, letting an awkward silence settle between them.

"What shall we do now, Master?" Shielder finally asked.

"I'll fight to defend myself, but I'm not going to pursue the other Masters. But I'll run into two of them tomorrow." Thoughts of Rin and Misaya flashed through her mind.

"You mean at school?"

"Yes. They should both know not to attack while there are other students there, so I should be safe until then, but…."

"You think one of them might attack anyways?"

"Rin shouldn't attack us until nightfall. I'll have to try to persuade her to reconsider before then. Maybe Berserker is enough of a common enemy… but somehow I doubt it after she made a point of declaring us her enemies this morning. I'm more worried about what Misaya might do, though. She should know the rules as well as Rin does, but she had it out for me even before the Holy Grail War began. If she knows that I'm a Master now…"

"Your concern is warranted, but please don't fear, Master. I shall accompany you to school in spirit form."

"Then Misaya will know that I'm a Master for sure…. But I wouldn't want to face her now without you either."

"If Misaya is the likeliest threat, does Shirou know about her?"

"No… he doesn't. He knows Rin and I are Magi, but I don't think either of us mentioned Misaya to him."

"Then you should share that information with your ally. If you time it well, you could even get a good dinner out of it."

"Are you going to be teasing me too now?"

"While I would never condone gluttony, Master, Saber was right about the need to eat well before a battle, and judging from how you dug into breakfast, you haven't been eating particularly well lately."

"I'm a glutton now?" Ayaka asked, reaching for her glasses but stopping her hand short. "How was I supposed to eat anything last night when I was scared for my life?"

"I meant no offense, Master. But you shouldn't skip meals like that, especially in the midst of the Holy Grail War. If going over to Shirou's place is what gets you to eat, then that's what you should do. It did look delicious though, and I wish I could have joined you and Saber to partake in it."

She couldn't deny that it was far better than anything she could have prepared for herself. She only used ready-made ingredients, while Shirou's cooking had more of a homemade flair, and sometimes she would just sit down in front of the TV at night with processed food that simply needed to be warmed up with a microwave.

"Fine."

XxX

"S-senpai? What is Sajyou-san doing here?"

Matou Sakura stood in the doorway in front of Ayaka, a bewildered expression on her face. She clearly sounded hurt.

"You're… not going out with her… are you, Senpai?"

"Um, no you see…"

If Ayaka was more like Rin, she could have covered for Shirou and crafted a plausible lie on the spot, using her natural charm to her advantage so that everyone would be forced to believe her. But Ayaka lacked the self-confidence to pull off such a deception, and instead froze up on the spot.

"Sajyou-san and I are working on a school project together, so she might be dropping by in the evenings for a while."

 _"Shirou! You idiot!"_ There was no way that Sakura would believe such a lie.

"Really? That's the first I've heard of it, Shirou," the voice of Fujimura Taiga, better known throughout the school as 'Tiger', though one didn't call her that unless one wanted to see the Tiger erupt like Mount Fuji, and Ayaka wasn't so daring.

Ayaka was on better terms with Fujimura-sensei than most of her other teachers. Not only was Fujimura-sensei her homeroom teacher, but she taught English as well, the only subject Ayaka was able to distinguish herself in. Fujimura-sensei even called Ayaka "one of my best students", though Ayaka didn't really think her English ability counted for much, considering that she was half-foreign, and had already learned the basics of the language from her mother at a young age. If anything, it was practically cheating.

"What are you waiting for, Ayaka-chan? Come on in," Fujimura-sensei beckoned.

Ayaka did as she was told. Shirou, Sakura, and Fujimura-sensei were gathered around the table. Saber was with them at well, but Fujimura-sensei did not seem to recognize that she was in the presence of a Heroic Spirit.

"So which teacher thought to pair you two together?" Fujimura-sensei asked. "Or did you two start shacking up without me noticing?" The Tiger bared her claws. "As your teacher and Shirou's guardian, I can't condone such irresponsible behavior."

"Um…. Kuzuki-sensei, for World History…"

Ayaka glared at Shirou. Stupid! Kuzuki hadn't assigned any such project to their class. All Fujimura-sensei had to do was speak to her fellow teacher tomorrow, and Shirou's story would be blown. But Ayaka knew she had to go along with it for now, and pray for the best. Why did Shirou have to pick Kuzuki's class anyways? Kuzuki-sensei was stern, and could even be a bit scary at times.

"Well, I suppose that I have Saber-san here to make sure you focus on studying, and not anything you shouldn't be be doing," Fujimura-sensei said. "So you were saying that you knew Kiritsugu?" She asked Saber, starting to sound excited. "I've long thought Shirou needed a positive male role model after Kiritsugu died. Will you be staying for a while?"

Saber nodded. "I did. And yes, I think I'll be here for about a week or two."

Ayaka had to keep herself from doing a facepalm. Not only did Shirou concoct a lie that wouldn't at all stand up to scrutiny, but he had introduced Arthur as Saber. Not that Shirou knew Saber's true name yet, but what if Taiga happened to mention 'Saber-san' at school, where Misaya might hear? No, that wasn't what she had to be concerned about; seated right at this table was Matou Sakura. The Grail always chose a Master each from the Tohsaka, Einzbern, and Matou famiies. The Matou were said to be a dying bloodline, but she couldn't deny the possibility that Sakura could be an enemy Master herself, in which case Shirou had just as good as told her that he was involved in the Holy Grail War. In that light, it was no wonder that Sakura seemed so on edge.

And of course, her teacher was doing a poor job of not acting like a lovestruck teenager in Saber's presence. Fujimura-sensei was never the most mature individual, but the look of infatuation was plain in her eyes. If, hypothetically speaking, Saber had been a woman (if a legendary figure like Galahad could really be female, why not another?), Fujimura-sensei would have never stood for it, but here she was welcoming him with open arms. She even bought Saber's lie that he had lost his luggage at the airport, so Shirou was letting him borrow some clothes, without question.

Eventually, everyone settled down into eating their dinner. The quantity of food seemed enormous, so there was plenty for Ayaka as well. There was seasoned beef, huge bowls of salad with sashimi, tomatoes, plenty of onions, and a lemon slice on top, fried shrimp, and platters of pork meatballs, covered in a savory sauce, served with noodles. Fujimura-sensei seemed to scarf it all down almost as quickly as Saber did, who complimented Sakura's efforts on helping Shirou prepare the meal. This earned a blush from her, though she still seemed uneasy around the unexpected company.

Fujimura-sensei and Sakura soon left, leaving Shirou and Ayaka to " study under Saber-san's watchful eyes".

"So, what brought you over, Sajyou-san?" Shirou asked.

"Firstly, you're a terrible liar. But I thought you should know that Tohsaka-san and I aren't the only other Magi at school."

"Really?"

"Yeah. The Reiroukan are a Magus family from Tokyo, and Misaya certainly transferred here with the intention of being a Master. And the Matou are one of the Founding Families of the Holy Grail Wars. Sakura could just as easily be a Master herself."

"Is there anyone at our school who isn't secretly a Magus? This is getting to be a bit much. I can't see Sakura getting involved in something like this either. She's been coming over nearly every day for almost a year, and she never showed any hint of being a Magus herself!"

"Just as you didn't show any hints of being a Magus to Tohsaka."

"Well… I suppose that's true…. But Sakura's a gentle girl. She wouldn't have any interest in fighting in these Grail Wars."

"I didn't have any interest in fighting in these Grail Wars either," Ayaka pressed. "She could still have been chosen as a Master. She probably has been, unless you think Shinji is a more likely candidate."

"I've known Shinji even longer than I've known Sakura. He can't be a Magus. Sure, he's been a bit off lately, but he was my friend since middle school."

"Just be careful, Shirou."

"I will. Thanks for the heads-up, Sajyou-san."

 **Author's Note:**

 **It wouldn't be Fate/Stay Night without gratuitous descriptions of food. Nor would it be a proper Fate/Stay Night story without at least one gender-swapped Heroic Spirit.**

 **While thus far we have followed the stations of Fate/Stay Night's canon fairly closely, the Holy Grail War will open up starting in the next chapter, and Fate/Prototype will begin to play an increasing role in those events that are paralleled. Ultimately, this story is not based on any of Fate/Stay Night's routes in particular, nor solely Fate/Prototype's draft, but a combination of all of them. I have a general idea of the direction I want the plot to unfold in, and I look forward to seeing it for myself as I write it and sharing it with you.**


	5. Ayaka and Shielder - Magi at School

Ayaka dreamed. She saw a wide table, made of fine wood and gilded with precious metals, perfectly circular with thirteen seats around it. Distinguished-looking knights occupied most of the seats, but one, across from a knight she recognized as Saber, was conspicuously vacant. This was Siege Perilous. Only the worthy knight who was fated to find the true Holy Grail was permitted to sit there. All others would suffer die instantly if they presumed to sit on Siege Perilous.

Her eyes opened. She was back in her own bed. But that dream about the Round Table and Siege Perilous… it was about her Servant, Galahad. Had the revelation of Shielder's identity caused her to recall the stories Manaka had loved as she slept? Or was this part of the bond she now shared with Shielder? While Ayaka knew the essentials of the Holy Grail Wars, she had neglected to memorize such details, as she had never planned on fighting in one.

Still… Galahad had found the Holy Grail in his… no, her legend, so what else could it offer her? Ayaka now realized how absurd was it that she had asked Saber what his wish was before her own Servant.

"Shielder?" she asked tentatively.

"Yes, Master?" The rosy-haired Servant materialized beside her.

"What do you wish for?"

"You probably have already realized this, but I have no need for the Holy Grail. The one here in Fuyuki is not even the genuine Grail, but an imitation created by humans to gather wishes so that their own can be granted."

"I know. It's another reason why I hate these Grail Wars… the selfishness of them all."

"Indeed, most wishes are selfish, making this Grail corrupt from the start. I would never debase myself by pursuing a false Holy Grail for my own gain, nor serve a Master who desired it for their own."

"But why come to me in the first place then?"

"Where would chivalry be if knights did not help innocents in distress? From that moment when you called for someone to save you, and I saw the you did not lust after the Grail, I was duty-bound to come to your aid. And of course, if my King is duty-bound to protect you, then I am doubly so."

Ayaka grimaced. She understood the idea of duty well enough, having continued to practice her Magecraft out of duty to her late father, though she found little joy in it. Shielder showed no signs of unhappiness at being her protector, but the idea that the knight had been obligated to protect her from the start rubbed Ayaka the wrong way. It was like she had forced Shielder to become her Servant.

"I still can't get that mindset that you, Saber, and Shirou share, of being so willing to risk yourselves for others. Doesn't that make me a poor Master for you?"

"You are nobler than you give yourself credit for, Master. Did you not put yourself into harm's way to try to assist me against Berserker?"

"I didn't know Berserker was going to come after me like that! That's completely different from something like what Shirou did. He jumped in the way of what was obviously a fatal attack. Only an idiot would…" She trailed off. "I mean, for someone you don't…" She was just going to make Shielder upset with her, wasn't she? "I'm sorry."

"Please, do not apologize. I did not take offense at your words. Self-sacrifice is an uncommon sort of courage, and I will not judge you for it if you think you are lacking in it."

"I'm a coward."

"I stand by my earlier words: you are better than you think you are, Master."

Ayaka didn't feel any better from Shielder's words. If anything, not being chastised for her impertinence made her feel worse.

She resumed her morning routine, which only caused her mood to worsen. As she got dressed, she put on a longer pair of stockings than usual to hide the scars Lancer's hounds had left on her legs. While Garden's medicinal plants had accelerated her recovery, they couldn't erase the faint white marks entirely. It wasn't as if she was pretty anyways, but she didn't want to show off her disfigurement to the entire school. Later, as she took out the eggs for her regular morning meal, she couldn't help but think back to the delicious breakfast Shirou had treated her to the day before. She almost felt inspired to do something exciting with her food for a change… but she lacked the ingredients she would need to make a dish that would could even compare to what Shirou, Sakura, or Saber could make. Rin and Shielder could probably cook better than her too. Even if she had the ingredients, she'd probably just make a flavorless mess or burn the whole meal if she tried.

Still, Ayaka recalled Shielder's comments about wishing that she could have joined her for the meals at Shirou's place, and against her better judgment, she decided to speak up.

"Shielder… it's not much… but… would you like breakfast?"

Would Shielder accept this in place of an apology? Or would the knight just say that such gestures were unneeded, and she shouldn't waste her mana keeping a Servant materialized for something as trivial as breakfast? Worse, Ayaka realized that, deep down, she was being selfish in her request. After the company she had enjoyed the other day, she didn't want to eat alone again. Surely Shielder saw through her even now.

But Shielder graciously accepted.

Ayaka began scrambling the eggs and decided to add some toast, since at least that was simple enough for her. But she was nervous cooking for another person, especially one as distinguished as a Heroic Spirit, and she ended up slightly burning it anyways. It wasn't as bad as she had feared, but if she had been cooking for someone like Saber or Shirou...

No. She wasn't going there.

"I'm sorry. I messed it up," she told Shielder as she set the plates down on the table.

Shielder took a bite of the eggs, and then sampled the toast. "I won't lie and say that it's very good, but you could have done far worse, and I truly appreciate the thought that went into it."

At least knowing that Shielder was Galahad, Ayaka could be sure that her Servant wasn't simply saying that to make her feel better, and Shielder ate the rest of it without complaint.

XxX

Shielder accompanied Ayaka on her way to Homurahara Academy, following behind her in spirit form. Ayaka hoped that she wouldn't encounter Rin en route. She couldn't broach the topic of the Holy Grail War with her in broad daylight, and with Rin having declared her to be an enemy the day before, it would just feel weird.

Of course, she had no such luck. Rin crossed her path at an intersection. Rin bristled as she saw her, and Ayaka tensed. Their Servants were invisible to the naked eye in spirit form, but the spiritual senses of a Servant were highly attuned to other spirits. "Archer is with Rin," Shielder spoke into her mind. "Remain calm. Archer cannot harm you while in spirit form, and as long as we do not attack him or his Master, we can trust that Rin and her Servant will not attack us for now."

The standoff only lasted for a few moments. Rin went "Hmph!", folded her arms, and then continued on her way to school, pointedly ignoring Ayaka.

Still, Rin was the least of her worries. Thinking back, Lancer had said his Master was a "her". According to her knowledge thus far of who had summoned which Servants, and her working theory of who the other masters were, that meant either Sakura or Misaya could have sent Lancer to kill her two nights ago. Judging from their attitudes toward her at school, Misaya was far more likely to be the Master behind the attack.

How was she supposed to go to school with someone who had tried to murder her before she ever became a Master? It was almost enough to send her into a panic again, but Shielder's presence at her side helped calm her. She was still afraid of what might happen, but at least she wouldn't be practically defenseless this time.

Soon, Ayaka reached Homurahara Academy. She encountered Isemi by the school gate, but he didn't seem as cheerful as usual. In another moment, the reason became obvious. Matou Shinji had finally decided to take out his anger on the new transfer student.

"Look, I'm still the boss around here!" Shinji said. "I don't care who you think you are, but you won't be going around undermining my position anymore! And don't hang around my _sister_ anymore! You think I didn't notice? You've got eyes for that Sajyou too- why, here she is right now."

"Leave him alone, Matou-san," Ayaka said softly. She would have liked to used 'Matou-kun', as Tohsaka would, to diminish his position, but doing so would escalate the situation.

"What was that, Sajyou-san? I couldn't hear you."

"Leave him alone Matou-san," she repeated, a bit more firmly.

"Don't be like that, Sajyou-san. Isemi-kun and I were just having a little chat. It's none of your business anyway."

"You're bullying him."

A nasty look flickered across Shinji's face, but in the next moment it was replaced with a grin. "You've got me all wrong, Sajyou-san. I was just making sure there would be no misunderstandings between Isemi-kun and myself. But say... you're not half bad yourself, Sajyou-san," he said, eyeing her. "I don't want you to think I'm a bad guy either. I know some good restaurants around town. If you want, I can treat you after school, and we can talk things over, just the two of us."

To think that the first guy to ask her out on a date would be Matou Shinji made Ayaka want to puke. But instead, she adjusted her glasses and said, her voice soft but icy, "I suppose I'm just your consolation prize after Tohsaka-san turned you down, Matou-kun." There, she had done it!

"You little..." Shinji snarled.

"She got you there, Shinji," Isemi said, sounding much more like his usual self with a good-natured chuckle.

"Shut up!" Shinji turned back to her. "Well, so what if I asked Tohsaka first? She's just too stuck-up for her own good. Think of it, Sajyou! There are certain advantages to going out with a gentleman such as myself."

"My answer is also no."

"You'll regret this!" he called after her, but she had already left him behind.

"See?" Shielder said, still in spirit form. "You went out of your way for Isemi's sake."

"That was nothing," Ayaka said. "Shinji's just a jerk."

She headed up to Class 2C, Fujimura-sensei's homeroom, and took her seat at her desk. A few minutes later, Shirou walked in.

"He doesn't have Saber with him," Shielder told her.

Ayaka wanted to groan in frustration. The whole point of her warning him about the other Magi at their school was so that he would take the appropriate precautions to protect himself. But Shirou had come to school, with nothing to protect him save a mysterious healing power that might not work a second time. Rin and Misaya were sure to take notice of Shirou's carelessness too. Well, maybe Shirou would be safe from Misaya for now, if she didn't know he was a a Master yet, but she would find out soon enough.

Fujimura-sensei came in just before the bell. It seemed she hadn't spoken to Kuzuki-sensei yet, so any stern lectures from the Tiger of Fuyuki would have to wait until then. Ryuudou Issei, the Student Body President, dutifully led them them in the morning ritual of bowing to the teacher, though very few students took Fujimura-sensei seriously.

Ayaka avoided Ryuudou to the extent that she could. Ryuudou saw through Rin's school idol facade, recognizing the devilish personality that lurked beneath it, and had come to despise Rin through years of having to put up with having her as his Student Council Vice President in junior high school. Ayaka knew that deep down, her own personality was not so different from Rin's, and she wasn't nearly as good of an actress, so Ryuudou would likely see through her if she spent any more time than necessary around him. It didn't matter if they were priests from the Church, or monks from local temple, but those who devoted themselves to religious orders were for the most part the natural enemies of Magi, viewing them as heretics. Kirei, and now Sancraid, were exceptions, in that they were also Magi themselves, but that was part of why Rin called Kirei a 'fake priest'. Ayaka's brand of Magecraft, Witchcraft, was particularly hated by the Church, for it was quintessential black magic, specializing in curses, and it had deep roots in pagan traditions.

Of course, Ryuudou had long since picked up on her aversion to him, and while her meek behavior at school was generally inoffensive, he had still decided that she had a "guilty conscience." Unfortunately, given that Ryuudou was friends with her ally, Shirou, it would be harder to avoid him now.

Ayaka's attention continued to wander through English class. Of course, this meant that Fujimura-sensei decided to call on her.

"Earth to Ayaka-chan!"

"Ummm… I'm sorry, Fujimura-sensei."

"You were zoning out in the last class too. And here I thought my best student could help Shirou-kun out with thus one." Her teacher's words were in Japanese, for it was rare for instruction to be given in English, even in the English class.

How embarrassing. "What was the question?" Ayaka asked, also in Japanese. As much as she cursed herself for bragging at times, she didn't like showing off her English because it only reminded people of her foreign ancestry, which drew unwanted attention to her.

"Which word completes the sentence for #16?"

Ayaka glanced down at her paper to see what she had written there. "Collaboration," she said smoothly. It was a difficult word for most Japanese speakers, who had trouble distinguishing the sounds of L's and R's, but Ayaka managed it.

"Excellent," Fujimura-sensei said. "Maybe you should study English with Ayaka-chan one day, Shirou-kun."

Fujimura-sensei wasn't going to let that go, was she?

Soon, it was time for World History, and Kuzuki-sensei came into the room. While students made fun of Fujimura-sensei to her face, no one would dare to treat Kuzuki-sensei in such a manner. Whereas Fujimura-sensei was childish and occasionally late to class, Kuzuki-sensei was professional and always punctual. He wore a smart green suit, and his bespectacled eyes quickly surveyed the class, taking note of any absences or would-be troublemakers. Kuzuki-sensei didn't need to raise his voice to command the class's respect. While he always remained calm, his presence was such that all it took was a single stern gaze from him for miscreants to wilt in their seats.

"Let us begin," Kuzuki-sensei said, and the class fell silent.

Kuzuki-sensei delivered a lecture on Medieval Europe. He covered the feudal system as it existed in France and Britain, comparing it to Japan's, which emerged later than in Europe and lasted until the Meiji Restoration of 1868, and expounded upon the legal and philosophical bases of each. He also noted the similarities and differences between European chivalry and the Japanese code of bushido.

"How oddly appropriate," Ayaka thought to herself, and she found herself paying closer attention to Kuzuki-sensei's lecture than usual.

"You know you can always ask me about chivalry if you would like a firsthand description, Master" Shielder said into her mind. "But I must admit, it is fascinating to see what education is like today. Schooling was the privilege of a few in my time. Even some of the knights couldn't read. You are very fortunate to have a teacher as knowledgable as Kuzuki-sensei."

"While you must all study hard to do the best you individually can on your college entrance exams," Kuzuki-sensei said as he wrapped up his lecture, "in your future careers, you will be asked to work for the good of the group. Therefore, you will complete your next assignment in pairs, and submit it to me one week from today."

Huh? A paired assignment?

"… Emiya-san and Sajyou-san…"

"No way…"

"Is there a problem, Sajyou-san?" Kuzuki-sensei's gaze found her, and she could feel the pressure emanating from it.

"No, sensei."

The bell rang, signaling that it was time for the lunch break. Ayaka walked over to Shirou. "You're not some kind of psychic, are you?"

"No! I swear!"

"Fine… let's see if we can find Tohsaka-san then."

"Right."

But as they stepped out into the hall, they encountered the person Ayaka least wanted to see right now.

"Oh, my, my…." Reiroukan Misaya said, affecting a noblewoman's laugh. "You've changed your style, Sajyou-san. Perhaps there are some scrapes on your legs you don't want the rest of us to see. Were you clumsy again? Or perhaps you ran into a pack of stray dogs on the way home from school. Either way, you should be more careful. These are dangerous times." Nothing that she said would be construed by outside observers as implying participation in a secret war between Magi, but she wasn't at all trying to hide from Ayaka the fact that she was indeed Lancer's Master.

"She has a Servant with her!" Shielder warned, confirming what Misaya had practically admitted.

"I don't want trouble," Ayaka said, trying to meet Misaya's eyes without flinching. But she was terrified.

"Emiya-kun seems to be following you rather closely today. I wonder why that is."

"We were assigned a project together in Kuzuki's class," Shirou told her.

"I wonder… is that all there is to it?" Misaya took a step closer. "I must say that I'm impressed, Emiya-kun. I honestly never thought that you had it in you. Maybe you should study with me some time. I would be able to teach you far more than Sajyou-san ever could."

Ayaka clenched a fist. Misaya knew that Shirou was a Master. Most likely, Misaya had sent familiars to observe them from afar after Lancer's attempt to kill her had failed, and had viewed the battle with Berserker through their eyes. Now Misaya was trying to seduce Shirou away from her.

"I'm… fine studying with Sajyou-san," Shirou stammered, clearly uncomfortable with how close Misaya was getting to him.

"That's a shame, Emiya-kun. Are you sure? You have so much untapped potential. You should choose your friends wisely, Emiya-kun, or you may regret it later."

"Don't listen to her!" Ayaka thought. "She doesn't care about you! She only wants Saber!"

Of course, people were starting to take notice. Not only was Shirou with Ayaka, but one of the most beautiful girls in the school was obviously hitting on him.

"So the Second Red Devil shows herself," Ryuudou Issei said, coming up behind them. "Tell me, Reiroukan… what wicked scheme do you have in mind for Emiya-san?"

"What a pleasant surprise, Student Body President," Misaya said. "You needn't worry yourself. I was just asking if he would like some help studying. But I'll be on my way now." She gave a small wave. "Think over what I said again, Emiya-kun. But don't keep me waiting for long."

"So that's what they're calling it these days," Ryuudou said, shaking his head. "You do realize that you can't trust a woman like that, no matter how she much comes on to you, don't you, Emiya-san?"

"Yeah…" Shirou said breathlessly.

The Student Body President turned to Ayaka. "You may have an assignment with Emiya-san from Kuzuki-sensei now, but don't you think of trying anything funny with him either. You're not a deceiver of men like Tohsaka and Reiroukan are, but I know you're hiding something from me."

"I promise," Ayaka said, eyes downcast. Then, a thought occurred to her. Kirei had said that the Reserve System had been activated, which would deplete Fuyuki's leyline. The Ryuudou Temple, which Issei was the heir to, rested directly atop the leyline at it's strongest point. If true, might the monks have noticed something?

"Ryuudou-san…" she began, still avoiding eye contact with him. "How are things at the temple lately?"

"Why do ask, Sajyou-san? You never ask me questions like that. Now I'm even more curious as to what your game is." He sighed. "But if Emiya-san's with you, I suppose I can tell you." He lowered his voice. "Something's not right at the temple. The monks say that the sacred power of Mount Enzou suddenly waned just a few days ago. It's only at a fraction of what it should be now. It's got everyone on edge up there. It's an ill omen, and if it becomes widely known that Mount Enzou has lost that which made it holy, then visitors and donations to the temple will dry up."

"That's terrible," Shirou said.

"And it's my fault," Ayaka thought. Her Servant was summoned with the Reserve System after all, which was responsible for the depletion of the leyline. She hadn't asked Kotomine for details, but it was likely that such a precipitous drop in the energy of the leyline could permanently damage it. Even if it recovered somewhat over time, it might never be as powerful as before. It could be centuries before Fuyuki was suitable for another Holy Grail War. But Fuyuki as a whole would go into decline. With an anemic leyline, which normally pulsed with life itself, it would become more difficult for plants and animals to live in and around Fuyuki. Rin's territory would lose much of its value. She couldn't be happy with that.

"Hey, Sajyou-san," Shirou said, returning her to the moment.

"It's not all bad though, and there's still something to celebrate" Ryuudou continued. "Did you know that Kuzuki-sensei is getting married?"

"Really?" Shirou asked.

"To a beautiful woman, no less. She's very dignified, and she's staying at the temple until the ceremony is completed."

"That's good for him," Ayaka said, not sure of what to make of it. Kuzuki-sensei didn't seem like the type to fall in love to her.

"Well, I should let you get your lunches. Later, Emiya-san. And I've got an eye on you, Sajyou-san."

Ryuudou left them, and soon, they found Rin, who seemed none too pleased to see them.

"We just want to talk, Tohsaka-san," Shirou said.

"I shouldn't be giving you the time of day right now," Rin huffed. "But since you're with Sajyou-san, I guess I'll hear you out. Meet me on the roof. But if this isn't worth my time, you'll be sorry."

XxX

"You still want an alliance?" Rin fumed. "Didn't I tell you? We're enemies now, got it? And I don't know about you, Sajyou, but I wouldn't want an ally who doesn't even have the sense to bring his Servant with him. He's just asking to be killed!"

"Saber can't dematerialize. It would raise too many weird questions if he was to come here."

"So do you at least have him waiting outside the school?" Ayaka asked.

"No. I'll be fine. The other Master's can't attack us here."

"Argh! See! I rest my case, Sajyou! Your partner is a complete incompetent! The only thing he knows how to do is throw himself into harm's way. Now you've got me all pissed off!"

But suddenly, there was a chuckling, feminine voice on the wind. "I see that the little Magi are all in one place. I should thank you, girl. Imagine my surprise when I found out that there were other Masters who went to this school."

"Huh?" Shirou said.

"Oh no…" Ayaka trembled.

"I recognize that voice!" Rin said, looking up toward the sky. "You're the Servant who Archer and I fought here the other day… Caster!"

 **Author's Note:**

 **Thank you very much for the reviews, favorites, and follows so far.**

 **A few reviewers have noted some pacing issues with the story. Part of this is undoubtedly a symptom of me trying to rush to complete as much of it as possible over the summer as possible, as I will have less time to write once the school year begins, and updates will become less frequent. Nonetheless, I'll try to keep up a fairly steady update pace until then.**

 **Shinji is in love with the idea of being a proper Magus, and that is exactly what Tohsaka Rin represents to him in canon. Fate/Prototype establishes the Sajyou as a fairly prominent bloodline, so it makes sense that Shinji would similarly try to make advances on Ayaka.**

 **As for Misaya, though we have relatively little material to go on for her character, from what we have seen in Fate/Prototype, we know she is proud and cruel. Her wardrobe preferences appear to be more revealing than her F/SN counterpart's, so I came up with the idea that she might try to wrap Shirou around her finger by taking advantage of her beauty and her superior skill as a Magus. Considering that a Magus family from Tokyo would probably be higher-ranked than one living in the backwater of Fuyuki, it seems likely that Misaya could be even more powerful as a Magus than Rin, and we know that she was ranked as the second most powerful Master in Fate/Prototype.**

 **Lastly, if anyone is interested in becoming an additional beta reader, particularly those with a good knowledge of the Nasuverse, please PM me.**


	6. Caster Attacks - The Masked Servant

"I'm pleased to see you remember. I'm sure the boy remembers too. After all, I've already failed to kill him twice. But if I'm not mistaken, this is the first time I've met the girl with the irregular Servant."

Caster descended, a hooded figure held aloft by a cloak that billowed out into sorcerous wings. With her training as a Magus, Ayaka felt the deceptively gentle caress of Caster's magic settling upon her mind, but this allowed her to fight back against it. Now that she had raised her mental defenses, it would take time or more invasive techniques for Caster to subvert or break them, and Caster only be able to glean her surface thoughts in the meantime. Really, for a Servant who belonged to a class vaunted for containing the greatest Magi of legend, flying and a bit of mind-reading were simply parlor tricks. So far, Caster didn't hold a candle to her sister -

Caster's mental probing withdrew, and the cloaked Servant smiled. "Fascinating. What a talented sister you had, young Sajyou. If only I had the chance to take her as my pupil, Manaka could have become a Magus beyond compare. You lack such obvious talent yourself, but you're not entirely without merit either."

Ayaka cursed herself. It had been a careless thought on her part, but it had given Caster the opportunity to discover her greatest weakness.

"You don't really want to fight, do you?" Caster continued, her voice now sounding melodious and soothing to Ayaka, almost like a mother's. "I'm not unreasonable. Simply give me the Command Spells for your Servant willingly, and not only will I let your friends walk away unharmed, but I will reward you with my instruction in Magecraft. Even a Magus such as yourself would bloom under my tutelage. We'd find your hidden talents, and you would soon become the envy of your fellow Magi."

"That's absurd! A Servant can't be the Master of another Servant!" Rin shouted back.

"Oh, but I can, little Magus," Caster replied. "Am I not a Magus myself? Of course, the removal of young Sajyou's Command Spells would cause her a certain degree of pain, but you'd all keep your lives, and it would truly be a small price to pay for what I'm offering her."

"You… you can't be serious!" Shirou protested. "It's in the middle of broad daylight! There are lots of innocent people in the school! If you start a fight here, who knows how many will be killed?"

"I'm not some heartless monster," Caster said, ever so reasonable amid the madness of the Holy Grail Wars. "Killing so many would be wasteful. Besides, I'm just here to offer you the chance to resolve things peacefully. So what will it be?"

"You aren't seriously going to listen to her, are you, Sajyou?" Rin said beside her.

"Master?" Shielder asked in spirit form.

Ayaka blinked, and it all became clear to her. Caster's words were but a subtler form of enchantment, sweet like poisoned honey.

She shook her head. "I'm sorry, but you're mistaken, Caster. I don't have any hidden talents to hone."

"There's no need to be modest, girl," Caster said, more insistently this time. "With such a bloodline and the feat of summoning a Shielder-class Servant behind you…"

"Even if that's true, if I accepted your offer, I'd become just like the Magi who started these stupid wars."

Caster scowled. "And what of you, boy? Your girlfriend may have rejected my offer, but if you were to offer your Command Spells in her stead, I might be willing to overlook her slight."

"I'm not -" Ayaka began.

"I'm not going to betray Sajyou-san," Shirou said firmly.

"Even to save her life?" Caster pressed.

"Just admit it, Caster: you're only trying to get us to give up our Servants because you know you're in the inferior position," Rin taunted.

"Troublesome children must be disciplined," Caster said, starting to rise into the sky once more. "Since you rejected my generous offer, I have no choice but to exterminate the three of you here and now. Don't worry. I'll find and kill the other Masters at your school later."

Caster's voice echoed above them, rapidly chanting a spell.

"Archer! Stop her!"

Rin's Servant materialized and conjured an arrow, which flew up to pierce Caster… only for Caster's form to shimmer like a mirage before vanishing.

"Did you really think I was foolish enough to show myself in person before so many Servants?" Caster laughed, mocking them from some unseen place. "Farewell, little Magi."

A vortex of fog swirled around them, and in another moment the atmosphere had changed. They were still on the roof of Homurahara Academy, but there was a desolate air to the place, and everything seemed to have a faint bluish glow to it. Rain beat down upon them, but there was a bright light through the thick clouds… showing a sunlit Homurahara Academy, like a strange mirror of the school they found themselves in, its students going about their lunch break, oblivious to what Caster had wrought. Sensing that something was fundamentally wrong about this place, Shielder manifested herself, and began surveying their surroundings carefully, remaining protectively close to Ayaka and Shirou.

"What is this?" Shirou asked.

That was what Ayaka wanted to know too, and she felt fear seize her. She had never seen thaumaturgy of this level performed before.

"A… Reality Marble?" Rin gasped.

"Uh, that's not helping."

"No. A Reality Marble is a type of Bounded Field that overwrites the World with one's mental landscape," Archer explained. "This is not a true Reality Marble, which would be entirely cut off from the World, but an illusory space created by Caster that mirrors the World. But don't assume that just because this world is fake it can't be deadly."

"You seem awfully knowledgeable on the subject for a Servant," Rin said suspiciously.

"It must have been something that I picked up," Archer shrugged. "But I would advise that we not dawdle -"

"How right you are!" Caster cackled as she appeared once again in the sky, silhouetted against the light of the real Homurahara Academy, a staff in her hands. Sigils appeared across the length of Caster's wings, and violet orbs of light gathered in front of each sigil. "And since you're now in my mirror world, there's no need for me to worry about collateral damage!"

"Master, take cover!" Shielder shouted urgently. Of course, there was no cover on the rooftop except directly behind her Servant's shield, so Ayaka found herself huddled there next to Shirou, who was at least not foolish enough to attempt an attack on a foe who was clearly out of range. Meanwhile, Archer had taken hold of Rin, and was leaping away with her toward the schoolyard below.

There was a rain of light from the sky as glowing magenta beams of energy fired from each of the sigils on Caster's wings, so intense that the center of each beam appeared nearly white. But the barrage was more like a bombing run than anything else. Chunks of concrete erupted from the rooftop wherever one of the beams struck, and it was also so bright and loud that Ayaka once again found herself practically paralyzed with fear. Her breathing was rapid and shallow, and she tried to cover her ears, but it did little good. She knew that if she stepped out from behind Shielder for a moment, Caster would annihilate her on the spot. Once again, she questioned her own sanity at allowing something as stupid as pride and rivalry to sway her back in the Church. Really, she should have headed back there and surrendered her Command Spells the morning after the fight with Berserker instead of plunging deeper into the madness of the Holy Grail War.

It seemed incredible that Shielder was still standing after this. Ayaka's perception as a Master told her that a direct hit from one of Caster's beams of light would even be enough to end most Servants. None of the beams had hit her Servant directly, thanks to Shielder's massive shield, which showed no sign of breaking even after taking so much punishment from Caster, suggesting that it was some sort of Conceptual Weapon. But even with the shield and considerable Magic Resistance, Shielder wouldn't be able to hold off Caster forever. Even if Shielder could fight Caster at range, she would be leaving not one but two people whom she was duty-bound to protect defenseless.

What were Rin and Archer doing now anyways? Did they just run away? But they couldn't escape from Caster's Bounded Field, could they?

"Incoming!" Shirou said suddenly, and he pushed Ayaka flat against the rooftop. Shielder heeded his words as well, dropping onto a knee even as she still held up her shield against Caster. A projectile flew overhead, and for the briefest of instants Ayaka saw it, a metal arrow that seemed almost twisted into a helix, before streaking onward to Caster.

The aerial Servant saw it coming, and uttered a single word in a language that Ayaka could not understand, "Μαρδοξ!" Caster wrapped her wings like a cocoon around her, and in the next moment the projectile struck. There was a sound like shattering glass, followed by a huge explosion, which left a hole in the side of the false Homurahara Academy. When it was over, there was no sign of Caster in the sky.

"Is…. is… she dead?" Ayaka stammered.

"I don't know," said Shirou, helping her to her feet, "but we can't stay here. Archer wasn't aiming at Caster."

"Caster is still alive," Shielder said. "Not only would this Bounded Field have likely dissolved if she had died, but I can still sense her presence nearby. But Shirou is right. We need to get off this rooftop while we still can."

They darted down the stairs to the fourth floor of the building… only for the door to lock itself behind them.

"Running like rats now, are you?" Caster's voice snarled through the halls. "No matter. Much as I would like to discipline you personally, I must deal with that Archer. But allow me to keep you entertained in the meantime."

There was a clattering sound, and skeletal soldiers began to materialize from the ground around them. Unnerving as that was by itself, like something out of a horror film, the skeletons weren't quite human either. Instead of proper skulls, all they had were jaws, with two rows of wickedly sharp teeth, and some of their bones ended in spiked protuberances too. They were a cheap sort of familiar, fragile golems armed with crude swords, but they were far beyond the crow familiars Ayaka could produce for herself. Clearly, Caster planned to overwhelm them with numbers.

Ayaka didn't want to die, so fighting was unavoidable. Steeling herself, she pushed Shirou between herself and Shielder.

"Sajyou-san?"

"You're no good in a fight as you are," she said as the skeletons started to close in, steadying the hand with her mother's ring of Witchcraft. In spite of her best efforts to control it, her fear began to creep into her voice. "If you want to be useful, just summon Saber already… hurry…"

"I can't sense him through the Bounded Field!"

She fired dark plumes at the nearest group of skeletons, shattering them as if they had been struck by shotgun pellets at point-blank range. "Then use a Command Spell! What are you waiting for?"

"Right!" He held out his hand, and one of the stigmata on his hand flared a bright red. "Come, Saber!" There was a rush of wind, and the knight clad in blue and silver materialized. The force of the wind blew the skeletons back, and in the next moment Saber had pressed the advantage, cleaving through several skeletons with a single sweep of his invisible sword.

"Don't wait to call me next time, Master," Saber chided.

XxX

With two Servants at their side, Caster's skeletal warriors didn't stand a chance. Saber cut a path ahead, while Shielder provided cover from the rear, and Ayaka got in what shots they could. Of course, Shirou wasn't satisfied with just summoning Saber, so he seized the opportunity to grab a broom that had spilled into the hallway from a supply closet, presumably when the building had been rocked by the explosion caused by Archer's projectile, and Reinforced it so that it could function as a makeshift sword. Ayaka had to admit, Shirou wasn't lacking in courage, putting himself on the front line with Saber, but it was born from the same stupidity that had almost gotten him killed against Berserker. No matter how many more skeletons were conjured, Shirou pressed on without hesitation.

Of course, it would have been too simple if Caster's skeletons were all that they had to worry about. The fake school had seemed eerie from the outside, but on the inside it was an alien realm. Sometimes, corridors seemed to loop back on themselves. Some stairways didn't lead down at all, but opened into yawning voids that led into other dimensions, threatening to swallow up the unwary, and occasionally smaller Bounded Fields would block forward progress, forcing them to backtrack to find another route. Ducking into a classroom and then leaving it might bring one to a different floor or wing of the building than the one they had entered from. All the while, wave after wave of skeletal warriors rose from the ground, and eventually Ayaka could feel exhaustion setting in. That had been Caster's plan all along, wearing them down in her funhouse if they escaped her initial bombardment, so that they'd be easy prey when they emerged. That the building occasionally shook, causing dust and occasionally parts of the ceiling to fall, showed that Caster was still busy fighting Archer, but that was hardly reassuring. Either way, the victor would try to kill them, and perhaps Caster or Archer would bring down the whole building down on them soon, turning it into their tomb.

"This is hopeless!" Ayaka cried.

Suddenly, Caster shrieked.

The false world of Caster's Bounded Field seemed to fracture around them, and it began to dissolve, fading away like a bad dream. Ayaka found herself back on the rooftop of the real Homurahara Academy, with Shielder, Shirou, and Saber by her side. Rin and Archer were there too, as if they had never leapt down into the schoolyard. Of course they hadn't. All of that had been in Caster's illusionary space.

Caster was still aloft above them, but she was struggling to maintain altitude. Her cloak had been slashed, and there was a wound on her side that kept bleeding in spite of her attempts to heal herself.

"Curse…you…" Caster coughed.

"Quiet, witch."

"Huh?" Ayaka said in confusion, before turning to see who had spoken to Caster. Perched atop the stairwell that led down from the roof, there was a man in a black draped in a black mantle. He wore an expressionless gray mask with a pattern like a tattoo on it that hid his entire face, but wild red hair could be seen behind it.

"Witch? Is that what you call me?" Caster raged.

"You would prefer that I call you Medea of Colchis?" the masked man asked with a cold laugh. "Be that as it may, you will always be the Witch of Betrayal."

"You…" Caster groaned weakly.

"Get out of my sight and lick your wounds," the masked man said pitilessly. "I'd kill you here and now, but I too do not wish to see this place become a battlefield."

"Hah… A pretty speech… But this isn't over…. I wonder… how long will it be before you are betrayed too…" Caster dematerialized into magenta wisps of light, and was gone.

"You saved our lives," Ayaka said to the masked man. For him to have fought Caster successfully, he had to be a Servant, but she couldn't get a read on him at all. "Why?"

"I was just passing through," the masked man replied. "My Master does not know that I am here, but I decided that stopping Caster was in our best interest. You're welcome."

So he was a Servant. His manner of speech irked Ayaka, reminding her all too much of a certain arrogant prick that she knew. She didn't believe that it was a coincidence that the Masked Servant had shown up either. But whose Servant was he then? Perfect as he seemed for someone like Shinji, there was no way that Shinji would send a Servant to help her after her rejection of him this morning, not without being there himself to get her to grovel for his aid. The Masked Servant had claimed to be acting independently, but if one part of his story was clearly false, why should she believe that either?

"Keep fighting amongst yourselves if you want," the Masked Servant said, turning to leave. "It won't be my fault if you bring down this school with you in the middle of the day."

The Masked Servant departed, disappearing into spirt form.

"Do you care to explain yourself, Archer?" Rin fumed. "You tried to kill Emiya and Sajyou!"

"I simply took the shot when the opportunity presented itself. They were doing such a good job of drawing Caster's attention, and you said yourself that they are our enemies, didn't you, Rin? We could have eliminated two Servants and two Masters at once."

"Quiet!" Rin snapped, and to their surprise, Archer complied. "If I still had another Command Spell…. Just go, Archer. We're done here for today."

Archer scowled, but once again obeyed, returning to spirit form. In turn, Ayaka nodded, prompting Shielder to dematerialize as well, but Saber could not return to spirit form, and so remained on the roof with them. He did dematerialize his armor though, revealing some of Shirou's casual attire beneath it.

"So… does that mean we're not enemies now, Tohsaka?" Shirou asked hopefully.

"Of course we're still enemies! I just… can't agree with what Archer did there. Caster's retreated, so there's no more reason for us to work together."

"You're not a bad person, Tohsaka-san, and your Servant must be pretty battered by now. He was already injured from Saber. If you'd just work with Sajyou-san and I..."

"Why would you want to, Emiya? My Servant just tried to kill both of you. I'll kill you myself if I find you out alone without your Servant. Really, I'd be doing you a favor. Some Masters would torture you first, but I promise you I'd make it quick."

"It's scary how you can joke about that so light-heartedly Tohsaka-san."

"I'm not joking!"

"Of course not," Saber said, nodding with a bit of a grin.

"Ugh! Why do you have to have Archer's attitude too? One of him is more than enough."

Saber shrugged.

"And what do you think of all of this, Sajyou-san?" Rin asked. "Are you still going to persist with this nonsense of an alliance between us?"

"No," Ayaka said, shaking her head. "It was a mistake to even ask. I'm sorry." She didn't have the energy to argue with Rin now, and she knew it would be unwise to trust Archer not to try to kill them again.

"Sajyou-san?" Shirou asked.

"See, Emiya-kun?" Rin smiled. "Your partner's smart enough. What do you need me for? All you have to do is listen to what Sajyou-san tells you. So I'll let the two of you go for now, but don't expect any more favors from me. We'll leave the roof one at a time, so we don't attract too much attention all at once, got it."

"Yeah," he said, deflated.

XxX

The lunch break was nearly over when Ayaka descended from the roof. It had seemed like it had been much longer, but she still had to attend class after everything that had happened… on an empty stomach, no less. Ducking into one of the restrooms, she saw she was a mess too, with disheveled hair and a number of scrapes from the misadventure in Caster's false school. She did what she could to tidy her appearance, but Misaya, or just about anyone else, would know that something had happened. The others would probably just assume it had been bullying though.

"Hey, Sajyou-san!" a voice called out.

"Isemi-san?"

"I've been meaning to catch up with you, Sajyou-san. Thanks for earlier."

"Oh… Shinji… right…. It was nothing."

"Are you okay, Sajyou-san? You look shaken."

"I'm fine," she lied. For a moment, her mind flickered back to the Masked Servant, and then she turned her gaze to Isemi. She blinked. No, that couldn't be. Aside from having red hair and being male, Isemi had nothing in common with the Masked Servant, and she sensed nothing different about him than any other human. It just had to be stress getting to her.

"If you say so, Sajyou-san. But if anyone's giving you problems, just let me know."

"Um… thanks," she murmured.

"Tch… You're putting the moves on Sajyou-san again?" Matou Shinji snarled as he came down the corridor. "I thought we discussed this earlier, Isemi-kun."

"We did."

"You're insufferable. But say, Sajyou-san, you look a bit worse for wear. I'm willing to overlook this morning. If anyone's bullying you, I'm the only guy you need to protect you."

"Just drop the act, Shinji," she said tiredly. "We both know what you're really after, and my answer is still no."

"Oh, really? That's how you're going to play this, Sajyou-san? We really must discuss whatever it is you think I'm hiding then."

"No."

"Give it a rest, Matou-san," Isemi said. "She's made it clear she's not interested."

Ayaka sighed a bit in relief, silently thanking Isemi-san.

"Fine. Be that way, Sajyou-san. I'm sure there will be others who will appreciate my friendship when I offer it!"

XxX

Any gossip about her disheveled appearance that afternoon seemed to be drowned out by the buzz about the handsome blonde foreigner who had come to visit the school. He seemed well-mannered enough, but he had been asked to leave and come back after classes were over if he had any business there. Other girls seemed to be busy debating who was more of a heartthrob, Isemi-san, or Saber-san.

Ayaka wasted no time in leaving at the end of school, and made sure that Shirou didn't hang around either, lest he become a target. They met with Saber outside of the campus, and then headed back to Shirou's residence. Sakura and Fujimura-sensei joined them later as well.

"So I spoke to Kuzuki-san during the lunch break," Fujimura-sensei said over dinner. "He really did put you on a project together. Be that as it may, I still don't want any funny business while she's over here! And you, Saber-san! If you wanted a tour of the school, all you had to do was ask. I could even show you next weekend!"

It sounded like Fujimura-sensei had her own funny business in mind to Ayaka. But really, what Ayaka was focused on was eating enough to make up for missing lunch, not that gorging herself was difficult with all of the good food on the table before her. Sakura still didn't seem particularly happy with her presence, but she was quieter about it tonight.

Fujimura-sensei also inquired about Ayaka's scrapes, as it was her duty as a teacher to intervene if any of her students were being bullied. However, Fujimura-sensei didn't press the matter when Ayaka told her it was nothing.

After dinner, Sakura and Fujimura-sensei left Shirou and Ayaka to "study", but in reality no work was done on Kuzuki-sensei's project, for they were busy planning their next move. Caster was wounded, and thaumaturgy on that scale was incredibly costly, even for a Servant. It was likely that Caster would be driven to desperation to restore her mana, and that they could see an spike in unexplained "gas leaks", which had started shortly before the Holy Grail War began, throughout the city as she preyed on civilians. If what the Masked Servant said was true, and Caster was indeed Medea of Colchis, she would also be sure to seek revenge as soon as she was recovered, and would probably try to simply level Homurhara Academy next time. Normally, an obvious place to look would be along the leylines of Fuyuki city, but in their anemic state, they would be of little use to Caster. They would need a more tangible lead.

The Masked Servant was another unknown. While he had helped them against Caster, it was impossible to know his true motives, though they could assume that he was affiliated with a Master at the school. That either meant Shinji, who Ayaka now firmly believed to be acting as the Matou Master, based on his advances toward her, or a hitherto unknown Master at their school, a concerning possibility in its own right.

Lastly, Rin was still hostile to them, though neither of them truly wished to fight her, and Archer would make any alliance with her problematic. Misaya and Illya were also still out there. One of them would be sure to act soon, to finish what they had started.

But in the end, the two allies were too exhausted to head out that night or make further plans, and Ayaka let sleep claim her.

 **Author's Note:**

 **This chapter took longer to write than the last one, because I pretty much rewrote it after deciding I wasn't happy with its first iteration. Also, my schedule will be getting busier as school resumes, so please do not be alarmed if the pace of updates slows somewhat. I have a much better foundation to build this story upon than its previous version, and all of your support, from reviews, to favorites, to follows helps give me motivation to keep writing it.**

 **The battle at the school is an early plot point in both Fate and Unlimited Blade Works. Prototype features this as well, with Caster using her magic to turn the school into an alien realm, which is the rationale for her tactics here. I drew further inspiration from Caster's Bounded Field in Episode 12 of the UBW anime and Kayneth's descriptions of his defenses at the Fuyuki Hyatt Hotel in Fate/Zero. Logically, being a Magus from the Age of the Gods, any defenses Kayneth can make, Caster can do better and in a fraction of the time. But while Caster is indeed theoretically able to create a Bounded Field on the scale of a Reality Marble, though not a true Reality marble itself, doing so is stated to be very costly, even for her, so don't expect her to be pulling the same stunt twice here.**

 **Yet as much as things remain the same, other things change. Blood Fort Andromeda does not appear at school. Rin still hasn't cemented an alliance with Shirou. And as other Masters and their Servants make moves overnight as Shirou and Ayaka sleep, further divergences will arise in the next chapter. But of course, aspects of F/SN's three routes, and Prototype-exclusive plot elements will continue to echo throughout the story as well.**

 **And again, if anyone who's reasonably knowledgable about the Nasuverse wishes to become my new Beta reader, please send me a PM.**


	7. Ayaka and Saber - An Unexpected Meeting

Ayaka dreamed again.

Galahad's father was Sir Lancelot of the Lake, a handsome man with dark hair that had a sheen that made it almost seem purple. He was the knight who boasted the greatest Martial Prowess, even among the other knights of the Round Table, but in spite of his valor, Lancelot could not stop himself from loving Queen Guinevere. But whilst his trysts with Guinevere would ultimately be the catalyst for Camelot's downfall, there was another another affair of significance to him, that of Elaine of Corbenic. A beautiful young woman with blonde hair, she had been smitten with Lancelot ever since he had rescued her in an act of gallantry, and so she had come to him, disguised as Guinevere, and slept with him. Lancelot was furious with her when he discovered the deception, but permitted her to live after learning that she was pregnant.

Galahad had not witnessed these events firsthand, so the details of the dream were more nebulous than the previous one, though Lancelot and Elaine's features were clear. They were her parents, after all. To think that the one who would become the purest of the Knights of the Round Table had been a bastard daughter…

"Good morning, princess," a teasing voice said.

Ayaka blinked as she woke, and reached for her glasses, but they were not to be found in an arm's reach. After a moment, her vision started to resolve, and she saw that Saber was standing above her, playfully waving her glasses. Ayaka sprung to her feet and snatched them back, but if Saber had wanted to keep them from her, he could have. Her reflexes were nothing compared to those of a Heroic Spirit after all.

"Does King Arthur always spy on girls as they sleep?" Ayaka complained, angrily glaring at him before putting her glasses back on.

"So you figured it out then. Yes, that's my true name. I can't imagine that Galahad would have told you unless you had already come to that conclusion."

She nodded.

"Anyways, I was just checking on you. As my Master put it, you were out like a light last night, so he asked me to carry you to the guest room and make sure you were comfortable."

Ayaka flushed at the thought of having been carried by Saber, but she quickly clamped down on the feeling, not wanting to look so obviously flustered in front of him. "Why do you keep taking my glasses like that anyway?" she asked sullenly.

"Because I like Ayaka better without them. Just listen to yourself! You were so much more lively a moment ago when you weren't hiding behind them. I think my Master likes the spirited Ayaka better than the gloomy one too," he said with an easy smile.

She shook her head. "Why? With or without my glasses, I have a terrible personality. I'm either stubborn and quick to anger, or I'm gloomy and boring. Who could like such a person?"

"That stubbornness may give rise to determination, and some of your anger is born from worry, especially where Shirou is concerned…"

Ayaka's cheeks got even redder, and she broke eye contact with Saber. "Stop it."

"You're much too hard on yourself. You overlook all of your good qualities and focus only on the bad."

"Too hard on myself?" Resentment at being lectured crept into her voice, though for now she held herself in check. "How could I ever compare to someone like my sister, or even Rin? You can't understand what it's like. You were special to begin with, chosen to pull the sword from the stone and lead Britain as its king. I'm just average. Manaka's the one who should have lived. She was special too, gifted with talent I'll never have, no matter how much I study Magecraft." Tears were starting to flow now. "Why couldn't you save her?"

"If it had been within my power, I would have saved both of you that night," Saber said, casting his own eyes down now. "But I was forced to choose. In the end, I chose to save you."

"That makes no sense. My sister was your Master. Your duty as a knight should have been to save her before me."

"Neither of you would have been saved if I had tried to save your sister that night. It was simply too late for her."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

He shook his head. "It does not do to dwell on the past. We must simply live with the choices and we make and keep moving forward, living as well as we can. You were the one who taught me that, but I suppose you wouldn't remember."

"Huh?"

"It was after Kiritsugu kidnapped you, and we had brought you safely back to your home. You were restless and wandered down to your Garden, where you encountered me. I asked you who had made Garden, and you told me it was your mother's gift to you. It was a simple thing, said in your innocence, but it made me think about what was truly important to me… and that's making sure that this world and those in it continue to have a bright future."

"I…" Now that Saber mentioned it, perhaps she could remember meeting an unfamiliar man in her garden, someone who was working with her father. It could have even been Saber. She couldn't sense any sort of lie in his voice. But all of her memories from that time were fragmentary, no matter how hard she tried to grasp onto them.

"Ayaka…" Saber said, bringing her back to the present.

"Sorry."

"Don't be. And don't keep underestimating your own worth. Take it from me; talented as your sister was, you are far wiser than she was."

"That's not -"

Saber held up a finger. "Don't you finish saying that. You just keep telling yourself those things, and you even come to believe them."

"Whatever." She didn't have the energy or inclination to argue with him for any longer.

xXx

She found Shirou waiting for her in the dining room.

"I'm sorry for imposing upon you yet again," she told him. "I should get going."

"We're partners, Sajyou-san. Even if we weren't fighting in this Grail War together, my home would always be open to you."

She sighed. "You're too kind for your own good. Aren't you concerned that-"

"Shirou!" the animated voice of Fujimura-sensei called from the door.

"Senpai… why is she here so early?" Matou Sakura murmured as she saw Ayaka.

"Exactly! What is the meaning of this!" the Tiger of Fuyuki pounced. "I was told that the two of you would be studying, not having a sleepover! Do you have any idea how immoral-"

"Sajyou-san simply worked herself to exhaustion last night," Saber said, entering the room. "You have my word that your charge didn't engage in any indecent behavior with her."

Sakura looked even more mortified now.

"Well, if Saber-san says so, then it must be true!" the Tiger said, returning to her normal, bubbly self.

"Fujimura-sensei… are you really going to…" Sakura started.

"Not now, Sakura-chan! Let's all dig in!"

As they ate breakfast together (with Sakura nervously glancing back and forth between Shirou and Ayaka), they watched the morning news.

"Breaking overnight, violence grips the docks of Fuyuki City. Six dock workers were found dead, each suffering from horrific injuries. In a statement, the police called the crime a mass murder, but have not yet named a suspect, setting a city on edge."

Sakura let out a little gasp, and Shirou tensed, balling his hand into a tight fist.

"In another crime, which the police are calling unrelated, one of the nation's most prominent businessmen was found dead in his Shinto penthouse early this morning." The victim's picture appeared on the screen, showing a confident-looking man, probably no older than his late twenties, with glasses and dark hair partially covering his eyes. "According to the coroner, he had been dead for several days, and died of a stab wound to the back. There is no sign of a forced entry, suggesting that the murderer was someone whom he was acquainted with. Nothing of value was taken from the penthouse. The police have promised a full investigation."

Ayaka had no proof, but she knew those crimes couldn't be a coincidence. It all stunk of the Holy Grail War. The police would never find those responsible. The dock workers had almost certainly been slaughtered by a Servant, and the murdered businessman had likely been another Master, betrayed by a supposed partner. As she knew all too well, Magi had ways to cover their tracks.

Really, the amazing thing was that it had taken this long for them to hear of fatalities. But it would only get worse.. just like last time, hundreds would die before it was over… not even Shirou or herself would be spared this time… she could see the carnage of the Civic Center before her eyes…

"Hey, Sajyou-san, are you okay?" Shirou's voice said next to her, helping her find her way back to reality. Fujimura-sensei turned off the television, no longer bubbly but with a concerned expression on her face.

Ayaka noticed that she had been hyperventilating, so she took several deep breaths to calm herself. Soon, the feeling of panic had subsided, but Ayaka found that she no longer had an appetite for breakfast. She apologized to Shirou and Sakura for not eating everything they had prepared for her.

"You'll keep an eye on my best student, won't you, Shirou?" Fujimura-sensei asked as she left.

He nodded.

xXx

Even if she hadn't been spooked by the news, Ayaka wouldn't have wanted to go to school that morning. It was unlikely that Caster would be back, considering the extent of the enemy Servant's injuries, but one period fighting through that fake school was more than enough for Ayaka. Moreover, while the unspoken truce between Masters at school had been followed thus far, there was no guarantee that that it would hold for even another day. If fighting broke out there, she could only trust two masters to prioritize the safety of the student body over their own chances of victory: Rin and Shirou. She was ashamed to know that it wasn't a sacrifice she was willing to make herself, though her goal would not be victory, but simple survival.

But just like she couldn't entirely refuse her late father's command to make daily sacrifices for her Witchcraft, the societal demand for her to attend her classes was too strong for Ayaka to ignore. She really hated being so weak-willed at times.

Ayaka tensed as she neared the school gate, but there was no sign of any hostile Magecraft at work, so she let out a sigh and crossed the threshold.

The first thing of note that day was that there was a substitute for Kuzuki-sensei when it came time for World History. Indeed, that had the student body abuzz. As far as Ayaka knew, Kuzuki-sensei had never missed giving one of his lectures, much less shown signs of being in anything but the best of health.

But far more concerning to Ayaka, Shinji seemed far more full of himself than usual today, practically preening himself. The type to bear a grudge, he couldn't have forgotten that both Rin and herself had rejected him yesterday. In a way, it made the lack of any obvious trap at the school even more worrying.

She almost felt sorry for Shinji when she saw the reason for his behavior: he had formed an alliance with Reiroukan Misaya.

"Well, don't you wish now that you had accepted my offer the other day, Sajyou-san?" Shinji said. "It could have been you next to me. Of course, a lady like Reiroukan-san is obviously one of high class and taste, so she knows how to appreciate a proper gentleman."

"Ufufufu. You flatter me, Matou-kun. Of course, you must be honored that I would deign to work with you."

"Yes, I- what?"

"You do show a certain drive and ambition, which I can admire in a man. You even possess a measure of intelligence. But don't think that you're my type. Still, you might yet change my mind. Dealing with the trash would be a good start."

"Hmph. You'll see…" Shinji took a step forward, a menacing look on his face.

Ayaka tensed. They were going to start a fight here? Instinctively, she wanted to glance over her shoulder, to where Shielder was in spirit form, for reassurance, but she dared not take her eyes off Shinji and Misaya for a second.

"Not so fast, Shinji," Shirou said, suddenly stepping in front of Ayaka. "Are you really going to do this?"

"Emiya…" Shinji said, shaking his head. "I've tried to be patient with you. I really have. But what am I supposed to think when you start hanging out with Sajyou rather than me? Aren't we friends? It's not too late you know. You can still join us."

"I'm not going to let you hurt her."

"I would never dream of harming a lady such as her… so long as she knows what's good for her."

"You're wasting your time, Matou-kun," Misaya said with an airy laugh. "Emiya-kun isn't going to betray his little girlfriend. She could have done so much better for herself. Such wasted potential…"

"Says the one who was trying to seduce him not a -!" Ayaka started indignantly, before catching herself. She hadn't meant to say that out loud. For one, it clashed with the unassuming glasses-wearing persona she had built for herself. That personality was as much of a survival mechanism as anything else, not just to blend in with normal people, but to avoid antagonizing more powerful Magi… like Misaya.

"Ufufu…. And I thought you were completely without a spine, Sajyou-san! But then you scurry back in your shell! It's almost adorable, in a pathetic sort of way. But enough talk. Let's-"

"Stop it, all of you!" A familiar voice commanded. There was Rin, down the hall, her arm outstretched, as if she was just itching to fire a Gandr Shot at the first one to make a move.

"Tohsaka…." Shinji muttered. But after a moment, he threw his hands up. "I say she's right, Reiroukan-san. There's no need for us to make a scene here. Let's just be on our way."

Ayaka warily let him pass.

Misaya nodded, and followed Shinji. But as she passed Ayaka, she whispered, "Next time, I'll make sure to finish the job."

Even though Shinji and Misaya had left, Ayaka couldn't feel any relief. All she was left with was the dread of a suspended sentence.

"Don't let Shinji scare you," Shirou said, putting a hand on her shoulder, causing her cheeks to feel quite warm. She fidgeted nervously, and pulled away after a moment.

"It's not Shinji I'm worried about."

"Exactly. Reiroukan should be your main concern," Rin agreed.

"I'll keep that in mind, Tohsaka," Shirou said. "And thanks again."

"You can save your thanks." Rin huffed as she turned. "I didn't do it for you."

xXx

When Ayaka left Homuhara Academy that afternoon with Shirou, she had been expecting to see Isemi by the school gate, or perhaps Shinji and Misaya waiting to ambush them as soon as they stepped off the campus.

She was not expecting to Sancraid Phahn again.

"It is good to see that you are well, Sajyou-san," the priest said. "And I see you have found a new friend." He turned to Shirou. "I don't believe we have been properly introduced. I am Sancraid Phahn, of the Assembly of the Eighth Sacrament. What is your name, young man?"

"Emiya Shirou," he said, regarding Sancraid suspiciously. "I thought Kotomine was - "

"He is," Sancraid nodded. "I am here on my own account."

"What do you want?" Ayaka asked nervously. Sancraid may have warned her back in the graveyard, but the experience had been less than a pleasant one for her.

"I mean you no harm, Sajyou-san. Observe that I have come here without my Servant, as a show of my good faith."

"I don't sense any Servant nearby," Shielder confirmed through her bond with Ayaka.

"You'll find that I am a pacifist, and that I would like to see that any casualties of this war are kept to a minimum, Sajyou-san. I hope that it is a goal you share with me."

"So what are you proposing?" Shirou asked.

"I would like to share some information with you. But not here. It's all too easy for others to eavesdrop on private conversations when out in the open like this. But I happened upon just the place for a situation like this."

xXx

They found themselves in a coffee shop near the Fuyuki Bridge. "Ahnenerbe" was its name. Ayaka couldn't say that she had visited the establishment before, but Shirou said he had been there a few times. It was quite cozy, welcoming customers with the aromas of coffee, pies, and curry, and it had a stylish interior with a European feel to it. But it also had a secretive feel to it, tucked away seemingly in plain sight, and the dim lighting within further contributed to this mood. It felt like a place where anyone could meet, perhaps even crossing realities to do so.

No… That thought was ridiculous. Why would a humble coffee shop ever be a locus of the Second Magic?

Few of the patrons of Ahnenerbe seemed to question the arrival of the priest with a pair of teenagers. They were a motley lot themselves, and gave the impression of having seen far stranger things. Was Ahnenerbe a front for Magi after all?

Impossible. Even with a Holy Grail War going on, there couldn't ever be that many Magi in Fuyuki. On another glance, most of them just seemed to be ordinary people enjoying their coffee.

Or were they?

Ayaka shook her head, writing the whole thing off as paranoia induced by the stress of the Holy Grail War.

Sancraid bade Shirou and Ayaka to order something for themselves before being seated. He would treat, as he had invited them there.

Shirou ordered Ahnenerbe's signature curry, topped with squid rings and served with salad.

While Shirou undoubtedly had a large appetite, Ayaka had to fight the urge to be a glutton herself when confronted with the dizzying array of fruit pies, meat pies, tortes, cheesecakes, and more, all hand-made and delicious-looking. But Kirei's voice echoed in her mind, chastising her for such sinful impulses, and kindly as he was acting now, Ayaka couldn't help but see some of Kirei in Sancraid as well. She had a rule not to fully trust anyone who was both a priest and a Magus.

In the end, she ordered a single slice of strawberry cheesecake and a cup of coffee.

Sancraid was the least extravagant of the three of them, simply ordering tea.

They took a booth in the back, and with all of the other conversations going on, it would be difficult for any eavesdroppers to follow theirs.

"I could weave a simple Bounded Field to assure further privacy," Sancraid explained, "but it would hardly be worth the effort. The use of Magecraft itself would draw far more attention here than anything we might discuss. I trust this is acceptable to you?"

They nodded.

"Thank you. As I am sure you have heard on the news," Sancraid continued, "something has been preying upon laborers at the docks. This is clearly the work of a Servant."

Ayaka nodded again, and took a sip of her coffee. Her eyes went wide as she burned her tongue.

"Sorry, Sajyou-san!" Shirou said with sincere contrition. "I forgot to warn you that Ahnenerbe serves its coffee extra-hot. It is actually quite good… when you let it cool down a bit."

"If I have any taste buds left…" she muttered.

"May we return to the matter at hand?" Sancraid asked. "I have located the hiding place of this murderous Servant. It strikes out from an abandoned factory in Shinto."

Ayaka poked at her cheesecake anxiously with her fork. She should have known that the conversation would put her off her meal again.

"If you know so much, then why haven't you stopped it yet?" Shirou asked.

"I wish that I could," Sancraid sighed. "But it is more than a match for my own Servant."

"So why come to Sajyou-san?"

"While I may have approached her first, let's not forget you," Sancraid replied. "My reasons are twofold. Firstly, both of you are not fighting of your own will; that is, you were forced into the Holy Grail War, and did not enter it for yourselves. I am sick of all of mankind's petty, selfish, twisted desires. I loathe the individual's lust for wealth, power, fame, carnal pleasure… I cannot abide these things as a holy man, and the Holy Grail that offers these things is an affront to the true Grail."

"And you want our Servants…" added Ayaka warily.

"But of course. Why would I not seek out the most powerful allies possible? When I heard that both of you summoned mighty Servants, I thought that with my help, the two of you might be able to end the madness of these Grail Wars."

"I'm in." Shirou said without hesistation.

"Shirou…"

"People are dying, Sajyou. I can't let that go on if I can do something about it."

Ayaka hesitated. She didn't even know these people. If she wasn't ready to risk herself to protect the school, why would she do the same for strangers? The idea of bringing a stop to the Grail Wars was of course appealing to her… if not for the fact that it would put an even bigger target on her back. The whole thing, from their meeting with Sancraid to their arrival at the factory could also be a trap…

No… Those weren't the real issues here. Could she let Shirou go out by himself and get killed, mysterious healing factor or not? Especially if it was a trap, Shirou would need help. Even if he had one of the most powerful Servants, he was still a novice compared to her at being a Magus.

She nodded. "Then I'm coming with you."

"Excellent," Sancraid smiled. "This is the address of the factory. Be there tonight and ready to fight." He stood up. "Until then, enjoy yourselves while you still can…."

"For there is nowhere you can run," he chuckled out of earshot as he left Ahnenerbe.

It took Ayaka a moment to process what had happened.

Sancraid had left.

She was sitting at a booth in Ahnenerbe.

With Shirou.

Was this a…

She flushed. No! This was definitely not a date! It had been strictly business! Shirou hadn't paid for the meal! That had been Sancraid! If that counted as a date, it would be the creepiest date ever!

"Sajyou-san?"

"It's nothing."

"Okay… I was just wondering if you were finishing that cheesecake?"

She stared at Shirou in disbelief. Was he just oblivious to how he was coming off? And how could he still be hungry after polishing off that curry? When had he even had the time to eat it?

"I can manage it myself."

She lifted a piece of cheesecake to her mouth and…

Mmmm…. Smooth and blissfully cool, it was just the salve her scalded tongue needed. The strawberries had just the right sweetness and texture to accompany the cheesecake…. If only she could have this every day…. But she wasn't like Tohsaka, who worked out daily with Chinese martial arts… instead…

She would be fighting for her life in the Holy Grail War.

She sighed.

"Let's just get this over with, Shirou."

 **A/N: My apologies for the long hiatus. My first "real" job started a few months ago, and I was busy with that and distracted by some other things going on in my life for some time that didn't leave me with much energy to write. So I hope you enjoyed this long overdue chapter! Special thanks to those who beta read for me and gave the idea for the expanded cafe scene.**


	8. The Trap - Death at Midnight

The factory was off the beaten path, away from the sprawling skyscrapers that dominated the core of Fuyuki's commercial district of Shinto. To the local government, the skyscrapers were a symbol of modernity and the city's newfound economic might, attracting investment and transforming the once rural town into a regional powerhouse. Given the zeal with which Fuyuki's leaders had redeveloped the city center after the tragedy of the Fourth Holy Grail War, it was curious that they would simply leave a decrepit old factory standing. Maybe it was simply because visitors didn't usually see that part of the city, and they didn't feel like spending the money that would be required for its demolition.

Ayaka could faintly sense mana, emanating from the factory as she approached it with Shirou, Saber, and Shielder at her side. Her heart pounded. There was little doubt that the murderous Servant Sancraid had told them about was lurking within, but it did not emerge. Perhaps it had already sensed their approach and was waiting for them to approach. Cavernous as the factory was, it could be difficult for Shirou and herself to escape once the battle began, and their enemy would hold the advantage of knowing the battlefield.

There was a very good chance that this was a trap.

So why did she continue to approach the factory?

She had told herself that she couldn't in good conscience let Shirou walk into a trap on his own.

He was annoyingly stubborn when he set his mind to something, so she knew that she wouldn't be able to dissuade him from this fool's errand. But was that really worth risking her own life? If he was going to be an idiot, that shouldn't be her concern.

Except it was her concern. He might no longer be the same person who had briefly been her childhood friend, but he had saved her from Berserker, and then given her a place where she could feel…

She shook her head. Why did this have to be so complicated?

"Please don't be afraid, Master," Shielder said telepathically, following closely behind her in spirit form. "I will protect both of you with my shield, on my honor as a knight."

Saber seemed to sense her anxiety as well. "You are in good hands with noble Galahad, Ayaka, and you have my sword as well. I will not fail you this time," he said with a smile.

Ayaka fidgeted with her glasses and scowled. How could he be smiling so easily at a time like this, as if he was some prince from a fairy tale? Well, that's exactly what he was… the fearless King Arthur.

Unbidden, Ayaka found herself wishing for a moment that Saber had been her Servant instead of Shielder. It wasn't fair to her Servant, who had been nothing but loyal to her, and she hoped that Shielder couldn't hear such thoughts, but Saber was just the sort of hero she had once believed in as a child. That Saber was Shirou's Servant instead faintly stirred jealously in her heart.

But it wasn't time to think of such things. They were about to enter battle, and a moment's distraction could cost them their lives.

With trepidation, Ayaka warily took a step into the abandoned factory.

She didn't need to go far into the factory before she encountered a sight that made her retch.

There were bodies… so many bodies… what were they doing here… and blood… was this… the … work of … a Servant?

She was shaking uncontrollably even after her stomach finished emptying itself of the meal she had enjoyed earlier that day, her mind flashing back to that night ten years ago, when her father died, with so many others…

"Ayaka!"

Shirou was there in a moment. Glancing upward, she saw that there was anger at whoever had done this mixed with concern for her in his eyes… but as for the bodies themselves… he barely seemed fazed at all. That in itself was unnerving to Ayaka. Did Shirou have a mind of steel?

"Well, well, it seems that Emiya and his girlfriend have finally made an appearance," an insufferably smug male voice that they would recognize anywhere echoes around them.

"Shinji? Did you do this?" Shirou shouted.

"I didn't lay a finger on any of them," Shinji replied. If they could see him, Ayaka was sure that Shinji would be smirking.

Ayaka slowly rose to her feet, hands trembling as she clutched her glasses.

"If you didn't kill them, Shinji, then who did?" Shirou demanded.

"His Servant did!" Ayaka answered.

"Why Sajyou, that's quite the accusation," Shinji said, his voice filled with mock hurt. "But you know, I am willing to give you one last chance to join me and Reiroukan-san. I mean, you're an actual Magus, unlike that self-righteous loser…"

"Why do you bother with the charade?" Misaya Reiroukan's voice echoed from above, followed by an airy laugh. "I thought we went through this already at the school. And are you so insecure that you can only sulk in the shadows?"

"You'll take that back!"

"Still, you have your uses, Matou-kun. You have a certain ruthlessness that Emiya-kun sadly lacks. In that sense, you're far more suited to be a Magus than he is."

"Really, Master, do we have to work with him?" Another voice spoke up, male this time. "This whole business rubs me the wrong way."

"You will not speak until I give you permission to, Lancer," Misaya said icily. "You of all people should know how scary a woman is when she's angry."

Misaya leapt down from her hiding place, landing on a perch above Ayaka and Shirou. She had changed into her casual attire, a black jacket trimmed with fur over a white blouse, paired with black stockings and shorts.

"If I was feeling merciful, this would be when I would ask you to surrender your Command Spells to me." There was a predatory look in her eyes. "But I'm not feeling merciful. Don't think I've forgotten how you cheated death once before. I told Lancer to bring me your head, Sajyou, and I'm still waiting for it."

Misaya's familiars, the dogs that had accompanied Lancer in the attack on the Sajyou manor, appeared, snarling and with drool falling from their mouths.

"Patience, my pets. I know you must be quite hungry," she said, bending to stroke the head of the nearest dog. "But you'll have some fresh meat soon enough."

"You're not going to hurt her." Shirou said, placing himself between Ayaka and Misaya.

Misaya smirked. "Really? And what exactly can you hope to do, Emiya-kun? You may have summoned one of the strongest Servants, and I admit, you did pique my curiosity. But you squandered the chance I gave you for mercy. And now I see it was foolish of me to even extend the offer to you in the first place. It was merely a fluke on your part. You're not even a real Magus - a mere magic user, and a third-rate one at that!" She laughed, no longer airy as she had affected at school, but high and cruel. "And the name Emiya? Once that meant something, but your father threw that all away when he became the Magus Killer and abandoned his family's research. You lack the bloodline and the Magic Crest. But worst of all, from how willing you are to protect Sajyou-san, even after she hated you for years, you come off as the would-be white knight, the hero who always has to save the girl the moment he hears her sob story. It's sickening."

She paused, a devilish look spreading on her face. "For instance, Emiya-kun, what if I told you that I was dying, and the Grail was the only way for me to save myself?"

"What?"

"My father cursed me when I was a little girl. He told me I had to win the Grail at any cost. If I did not, his curse would claim my life."

"She's lying! Don't listen to her, Shirou!" Ayaka interrupted.

"You'd like to think so," Misaya said. She pulled up her blouse, revealing her lower abdomen. Amid Misaya's fair skin, wide splotches of tissue were blackened and necrotic, faintly gleaming with a malignant aura.

"It started spreading a few days ago, when the Holy Grail War started," Misaya explained. "At the current rate, I only have another week or two at most… perhaps even just days. So if I am to live… Sajyou-san must die. And if you wish to protect her, you'll have to kill me."

"We don't have to kill each other! There has to be another way!"

"Are you even listening to yourself, idiot? I lured these men here, and then helped Shinj's Servant kill them all. " she said, gesturing at the mangled bodies that surrounded them. "And I'll kill again without hesitation if that's what it takes…starting with you and Sajyou. Normally, nothing would give me greater pleasure than killing a handsome young man who styles himself a hero… but I think I'll have Lancer stab you through your arms and legs first, so you can't run. Then I'll kill Sajyou-san first, in front of you, and slowly. Only after I'm done with her will I crush your skull in my own hands," she said, Reinforcement Magecraft glowing along her fingers to show that it was no empty threat. "The time for talk is over." Lancer materialized at her side. "Shinji! Call your Servant already!"

"Wandering off on his own like that…" Shinji snarled, still unseen. "Rider!"

"I am here, Master," the Servant said as it materialized.

"No…" Ayaka gasped in dismay.

It was the Masked Servant.

"Don't be so surprised," the Masked Servant, or as they now knew him, Rider, said. "That whole incident at the school with Caster was out of self-interest, nothing more."

"What are you-" Shinji started, but a sudden aura of killing intent from Rider quickly shut him up.

"You must forgive me for having such an embarrassing Master," Rider continued, disdain clear in his voice. "He has virtually no ability to provide me with mana, so I must prey upon others to survive. There was, of course a time when I thought such would be beneath me as a hero. But times change."

"You two are cut from the same cloth," Lancer scowled, even as he readied his spear against Ayaka, Shirou, and their Servants. "Honestly, you and Shinji are perfect for each other."

"Stay back, Master," Shielder said, taking her spot in front of both Ayaka and Shirou, Saber at her side.

Lancer and Rider lunged forward, while Saber and Shielder moved to meet them, and the clash of between the Heroic Spirits began. Knowing that it would be nearly instant death to be caught between them, Ayaka darted to the side, seeing a set of crates that would give them some cover, and pulled Shirou with her.

"Ayaka-!"

"Don't try it! Remember what happened with Berserker? You might not get so lucky the next time."

Peering from behind the crates, Ayaka could see Shielder and Saber worked brilliantly as a team. Long experience fighting together as King and Knight meant that they knew each other's styles well, and as such they could anticipate each other's moves, moving together with such coordination that one could be forgiven for thinking that they had clairvoyance. Together, they were a perfect balance of defense and offense

But somehow, they seemed to be losing.

Lancer's strikes seemed blindingly fast, and while Shielder and Saber were able to block or parry each blow, it was clear that doing so was taking more out of them than it was out of him. Meanwhile, Rider attacked independently from his ally of convenience, seeming to fade in and out of sight, cloaked amid the darkness, striking from unpredictable angles.

Ayaka knew why their Servants were being pushed back. Misaya was on a completely different level than herself as a Master, easily with at least twice her potential, and the gulf between the amount of mana Misaya could supply to Lancer versus that which Shirou could give to Saber was far greater still. In short, Saber was starved for mana and was suffering from reduced parameters as a result. Rider would have been similarly crippled if he was dependent on Shinji for mana, as there was no indication that he was any more skilled than Shirou, but freed from moral constraints, Rider was sustained by the devoured souls of the dead workers.

But what could she do?

"I did not expect that you would be one to hold back," Saber said as he deflected Lancer's spear again.

"Don't think it's because of chivalry or some other high-minded ideal," Lancer replied, gritting his teeth. "If my Master would actually permit me to go all out, this fight would already be over."

Lancer was holding back?

Even as she was dying, Misaya barely thought them worth the effort, believing she could slaughter them just as easily she and Shinji had massacred the workers?

Misaya and Shinji had recreated the carnage of the last Holy Grail War in miniature here. Who knew what greater horrors she would unleash if she was permitted to claim the Grail?

She would not allow that tragedy to be repeated. Nor would she cower any longer. She might be weak, but she could still fight that fate with everything she had.

"You find Shinji, I'll take Misaya," she said to Shirou as she rose.

"Ayaka-?"

A plume of black feathers burst from her ring and shot toward Misaya. Swiftly reacting, Misaya conjured a gust of wind that blew the cursed feathers off course.

"Ara… ara…. Perhaps I underestimated you again, Sajyou. Then again, they say a cornered dog is the most dangerous…. But that's just a parlor trick compared to the power a noble magus can wield."

Misaya gave a curt command, and the dogs went bounding toward Ayaka. Standing firm, she fired more plumes from her ring, to deadly effect. The other dogs were still driven by Misaya's will, but seemed to hesitate slightly at the deaths of their fellow hunters, and began to circle around Ayaka at a distance instead, waiting for her to drop her guard for an instant.

"Your familiars didn't work then, and they won't work now!" Ayaka shouted back.

"My, I thought that last time they gave you a nice scar on your leg and nearly ripped out your throat," Misaya laughed. "You must know that I can see through the eyes of my familiars, should I choose to. I have very good compatibility with them. So that night, it was almost as if I was there to do the deed myself," she said, smiling viciously. "Remind me, Sajyou, what are your familiars, pigeons?"

As Misaya asked the question, two dogs lunged without warning at Ayaka from opposite directions. She killed one, which charged headlong into her curse, but its partner was moving too quickly for her. She turned around and -"

Shirou was there, braining the beast with a heavy section of pipe that he had found lying on the ground, glowing green with lines of Reinforcement across its length. The dog whimpered and then collapsed. It did not get back up.

"I see you're not completely useless at fighting, Emiya-kun. But this is a duel of magi, and those who lack the skill of a magus will be reduced to ash."

Misaya raised a hand and quickly dropped it straight down, a line of glowing orange magical energy following her movement. Raising her hand again, she made two smaller parallel strokes connecting to the top of the first line and diagonal to it.

"Ansuz!"

Flames burst from the shimmering runic character, directed toward Shirou. He swung the pipe wildly, more out of a reflex than anything, and it was struck by the fireball. At once, the Reinforcement was broken, the pipe shattering into pieces, and the parts of it closest to the fire melting into slag. Shirou only avoided death because he then lost his balance and fell to the ground, allowing the fireball to pass overhead in the next instant and strike the crate they had been hiding behind just minutes before, causing it to explode into blazing flames.

"Move!"

Misaya was generating more flames, and Shirou was grazed in the side by another fireball as he scrambled to his feet, giving him a serious burn. The skin was charred and he bent in pain, but incredibly, he was able to finish rising as Misaya looked on in surprise.

"Shirou!" Ayaka cried.

"Don't worry about me. I'm fine!"

"No, you're not!"

"Do you want to waste time arguing while Misaya burns this whole place down?" Already, the floor around them was turning into a conflagration.

Conceding the point, Ayaka haphazardly shot another plume at Misaya as she and Shirou retreated. It wasn't as if she could spare the time to heal his injury while they were still under fire from Misaya. "There's no way out on the ground," she said, looking around. "We'll have to climb."

Under normal circumstances, this would be precisely the worst thing to do during a fire, as it would expose one to inhaling noxious fumes from the smoke, potentially leading to asphyxiation and death. The risks were even greater in an abandoned factory, with who knew what industrial chemicals lying around. But she knew they would not survive the raging flames of Ansuz if trapped in them. Already, she was sweltering in their heat.

But turning back, she saw that Shirou had a slightly dazed look, undoubtedly having another flashback to the Great Fuyuki Fire.

"Shirou! Listen to me!" she said, her hand anxiously going to her glasses. "Snap out of it! We need to climb now!"

Blinking, he returned to reality. "Right!"

While Ayaka and Shirou clambered up by whatever means available to them, the battle between the Servants continued unabated. Misaya of course had to climb to escape the flames she had unleashed as well, but she had started on higher ground than them, and thus had the advantage. Shielder and Saber tried to move between them and Misaya to deny their foe a clean line of fire, trusting that their formidable magic resistance would protect them, but stable ground was few and far between, and they were constantly harried by the enemy Servants. Meanwhile, if his cries were any indication, Shinji was getting increasingly panicked. "What are you doing, Reiroukan-san? This was never part of the plan!"

"There's a window up there!" Shirou shouted out as he climbed a chain, following Ayaka. "If we can get to it, Saber can take care of our landing!"

She hoped so. The factory's structural integrity was already starting to fail, with debris falling before the inevitable collapse. She knew she couldn't take too much more of this either. She was getting tired and the air was filled with smoke, with little of the air she needed. If she lost consciousness now, it would all be over for her.

"Master, look out!" she suddenly heard Shielder cry out.

Hurtling toward them through the air was Rider. She barely managed to pull herself out of the way and onto a landing before his sword intersected the chain she had been holding onto moments before.

Shirou! In another split second reaction, she reached out, grabbing his hand before he fell out of reach, but in the process her glasses tumbled off the bridge of her nose and were lost to the inferno.

Her heart throbbed, her system flooded with adrenalin as she struggled to hold onto Shirou. He was heavier than her, and her sweaty hands threatened to betray her.

There was a dark blur the sound of something landing on the floor nearby. Ayaka's heart froze as she realized that Rider was right behind her.

There was nothing she could do. Perhaps if she were to let go of Shirou, she would have a moment in which to avoid Rider's killing strike, but then Shirou would fall to a fiery death, and that was unacceptable to Ayaka.

"Ayaka-"

She knew what he wanted to do — to sacrifice himself to give her that chance at escape, infinitesimally small as it was.

"Just hold on, you idiot!" She braced herself, praying for a miracle.

Yet Rider's killing blow did not come. Instead, the masked enemy Servant hesitated. That was all the time Saber needed to leap up to the platform, his invisible blade swinging in midair toward Rider. Deftly leaping backward, Rider avoided Saber's attack, and then vanished once more into the darkness with a swirl of his cloak.

"Are you alright, Ayaka?" Saber asked with concern, as he bent down and helped her lift Shirou to safety.

"For now…" she said, her breath ragged. "But we need to get out of here!"

"I agree," Shielder said, joining them and taking hold of Ayaka.

"On the count of three…" Saber said, nodding.

"Cover your eyes," Shielder warned.

Holding their masters tight, the two Servants leapt up through the nearby window and out into the cold night air. Shards of glass flew by, giving Shirou and Ayaka several small cuts, but such injuries were far preferable to death by asphyxiation in the abandoned factory.

As they landed, the structure gave a loud heave, before a large portion of it caved in on itself.

Ayaka greedily inhaled the fresh air outside with deep breaths. It was a minute before she remembered she needed to check on Shirou's injury. But to her surprise, there was no wound there at all, just a singed hole in the side of his shirt.

"That's twice now!" she said half in relief, half in annoyance. "Being able to heal yourself like that isn't normal! And now that it's happened again, you'll take more unnecessary risks! You're sure you don't know anything about this?"

"I swear, it's just as much a mystery to me as it is to you!"

"You scared me back there."

"I'm sorry. But Shinji and Misaya… Do you think… they made it out safely?" Shirou asked.

"You're worried about them right now?" Ayaka snapped incredulously. "They tried to kill both of us!"

"I saw Lancer make his exit, so Misaya is almost certainly alive," Saber said. "I cannot say for Rider's Master, but I'm sure his Servant is still out there as well."

Shirou was crestfallen. "None of it made any difference. We weren't able to save anyone, and Rider will keep killing people."

"We're alive… be grateful for that," Ayaka said with a sigh. "And next time think before you lead us into an obvious trap!"

"You know, you're sounding an awful lot like Tohsaka-san right now, Sajyou-san."

"Is that a problem?" she demanded. But as much as she would hate to admit it out loud, he was right. Without her glasses, her facade as the meek Ayaka crumbled, and the jaded, temperamental part of her was bared. Yet as much as she had hated this part of herself, it was cathartic to vent like this, especially when Shirou was just so stupid sometimes!

"It's good to be able to release your emotions rather than keeping them pent up inside, but this is not the time to be fighting among ourselves," Saber said gently.

"I don't recall seeing you ever get angry," Ayaka said crossly. "Or Shielder for that matter. Did none of that back in the factory bother the two of you at all?"

"It was ghastly, yes," Saber replied. "But I'm sorry to say that I have seen far worse, and that losing my composure on the battlefield is not a luxury that I have."

"I agree with Saber," Shielder said. "And even when I wasn't on the battlefield…" Her voice trailed off. "Forget what I just said. What we need to do now is regroup and devise a new strategy, Master."

Ayaka was tempted to press the point, wondering what Shielder didn't want to say, but now that the adrenaline was wearing off, she found her strength and temper leaving her.

"Fine… let's do that… before we run into Misaya again."

And so they turned, leaving the burning factory behind them.

Little did they know they were being watched from afar.

"Hmmm… An unassuming beauty, yet never in Uruk did I see a woman who would compare to her. Tempered in the flames, she finds a new resolve, and shines ever brighter than before. This may be a decadent age, but it is good to know that even it has its treasures." The golden king smiled. "Who better to be my queen?"

"Of course, she appears to be enamored with that boy, like a pair of quarreling lovers. It is no matter. There is nothing he can offer her that I cannot. Given time, I am sure she will make the right choice."

"The boy's Servant also intrigues me. The priest tells me it the same Saber from the last war, the King of Knights himself. Yet some have the temerity to hail him as the greatest of heroes? I look forward to the challenge and correcting such delusions."

xXx

"I told you we should have never trusted her, Rider! And why weren't you there sooner? Instead of fighting Emiya and Sajyou-san's Servants, your first thought after Reiroukan-san betrayed us should have been for my safety!" Shinji berated his Servant after being set down some distance away from the factory. "And then, when you finally have the chance to kill them, you hesitate. What were you thinking?"

The masked Servant remained silent.

"Don't think I haven't noticed! You're always too friendly to her and getting in my way! Need I remind you that she is the enemy? Or are you in love with Sajyou-san? That's it, isn't it?"

"I saved your miserable life out of respect for the wishes of my true Master. You may have that Book of False Attendant, but make no mistake, I have no need for a Master. My mask is very efficient at storing mana, and after what we've harvested over the last few days, you could die right now, and I would scarcely be affected."

Shinji clutched the tome tightly to his side. "Get out of my sight, Rider, and return to the manor at once."

"As you wish," the Servant replied as he dematerialized, his contempt clear.

"Why do I get stuck with the worst Servant!" Shinji raged as he walked home. "Everything was going well until-"

He paused. There was a young woman, dressed in white and barefoot along the path before him. Finding himself drawn towards her, Shinji saw that the she had fair skin and dark, shimmering hair, of a similar shade to Sakura's, but to him she was far more beautiful, with a purity to her that his adoptive sister had long lacked.

Maybe his luck was turning around.

Putting on his best gentlemanly act, he approached her, and asked, "Good evening, miss. Are you by yourself? You should know it's not safe to be out alone at this time with all that's been going on. Would you like me to accompany you?"

"That's very kind of you," she said, offering him a bright smile. "What is your name, sir?"

"Matou Shinji. And what might yours be?"

"Mary," she replied.

A foreigner then, but that made her no less beautiful. The very air around her felt intoxicating.

"A lovely name. Then I, Matou, Shinji, will escort you." He held out his hand to her. This was too easy.

"Thank you," she said, taking it, and before Shinji could realize what was going on, Mary had wrapped herself around him and pulled him into a kiss.

"Ughn!" Shinji found himself filled with an indescribable bliss… so much so that he did not feel any pain from the deadly poisons that had begun to flow into his body from her first touch. In just a few seconds, they had turned his brain to mush. Shinji's eyes rolled into the back of his head, his body twitching spasmodically, and then he fell over, dead. Such was the power of her Noble Phantasm, Zabaniya: Delusional Poison Body.

Mary's form shimmered, her skin darkening and the skull mask of Assassin appearing over her face. Such a brief encounter wasn't really her style, and nor had the boy been her type, but the opportunity of a Master without his Servant had been too good to pass up.

Concealing her presence once more, Assassin faded into the night, leaving the corpse of Matou Shinji to slowly cool and stiffen.

 **A/N: It's been over six months since the last update, even when I had said I had hoped to get the next update out sooner than the previous hiatus (which had been a four month wait. I am very sorry for the wait, and I express thanks to everyone who kept reading and following the story throughout that time. I was very busy with my job, and I didn't have much energy to write in the evenings, and then caught myself up in several rewrites.**

 **I'm not sure that Misaya would actually be able to cast a wind spell, as she does in this chapter. Thus far, I have not found any specific mention of her elemental attributes. Given that Misaya was the prototype of Rin, I have assumed here that she has a similarly flexible repertoire at her command. My apologies if there is any material out there that I am not aware of that contradicts this. However, Misaya is specifically stated to have excellent compatibility with her familiars, and to be able to use Rune Magecraft, so I incorporated those details into her duel against Shirou and Ayaka.**

 **Shinji's death at the hands of Assassin has been planned for quite some time. In contrast, earlier versions of the story had the golden king being killed off before the fifth war, due to certain complications that he would otherwise present to the backstory, in light other changes from Fate/Prototype. However, I have since resolved those points, and he is now able to take part in the fifth war as he was fated to do so. Due to the relative lack of available dialogue from his Prototype version, I have based his manner of speaking more on his Stay Night counterpart, as that is how I know how to write the golden king, but moderating his worst tendencies and keeping in mind other character differences presented in Fate/Prototype.**

 **Hopefully those who have been reading all along enjoy the new chapter. I'm not going to promise a particular timeframe for the next chapter this time, lest I set an expectation that I fail to meet, but I hope to continue writing Ayaka and Shirou's story.**


	9. Rider Revealed - Be My Empress

While Galahad and her mother had been permitted to live, Lancelot wanted nothing to do with Elaine or their daughter at first. When his illegitimate daughter was born, he gave her into the care of her great aunt, who was the abbess of a nunnery. There, his daughter would be cared for, under a sturdy roof, food to eat, simple as the meals were, and even have the chance to receive an education, a rarity for girls in those times. But most importantly, it kept her, the offspring of Elaine's deception, locked far away from the court at Camelot.

Galahad was raised to be a sister of the Church, like the other girls at the nunnery. She had no lack of piety. Indeed, her devotion exceeded that of long time sisters, and in spite of the sordid circumstances of her birth, Galahad was unimpeachably pure in word and deed. Had she remained in the Church, Galahad would have surely been named a saint.

But Galahad was also something of a tomboy. Hearing stories of her father's bravery, and those of the other knights of the Round Table, she aspired to become a knight herself one day. The abbess spoke to young Galahad, and found that the girl's desire was earnest and selfless. Rather than her own personal glory, she sought only to protect others and to serve God in her own way as a knight. Impressed, the abbess began to realize that young Galahad truly had a special calling. And so the girl was permitted to begin training in the necessary skills of a page and a squire, so long as she did not let her other duties slide. A tireless worker, Galahad took it all in stride.

But if there was a part of her wish that was in the least bit selfish, it was that young Galahad wanted to meet her father…

Daylight broke, rousing Ayaka from her dream. Groggily, she fumbled for her glasses, only to feel the texture of a tatami mat under her fingertips.

Oh… that was right… the recollection of the battle in the warehouse last night came to her. She had lost her glasses, and until she could pick up a replacement pair, she wouldn't be able to hide her grouchy self behind them.

No… that was just another form of running away, of being false to herself. While she had started wearing glasses shortly before the Fourth Holy Grail war as she developed myopia, it was only in the aftermath of her father and her sister's deaths that they had become a crutch, a totem that would let her shut off her strongest emotions and isolate herself from the world as she miserably awaited what she had once viewed as her inevitable death.

But she had survived: Lancer's attack, Berserker, Caster, and then the trap in the factory. She could recall the righteous anger she had felt when she challenged Misaya last night. It was still there, a wellspring of determination waiting to be tapped. Her stubbornness, to not simply lie down and die, but to keep fighting even if she was weak, wasn't something she should be ashamed of; it was her greatest source of strength.

Gently placing her fingers over her eyes, Ayaka concentrated, Reinforcing them to correct for her myopia. Opening them, the room around her was clearer than it had been before, its details even crisper than when she wore her glasses.

Only then did it strike her that this was the second night in a row that she had slept at Shirou's house rather than her own. She had been so exhausted after the fight last night that she could barely remember arriving here… but the tatami mats should have been the first clue that this wasn't her own western-style bedroom.

Even after her verbal abuse, he still welcomed her in his home. She shook her head. She had called him an idiot, and sometimes he rubbed her the wrong way, but Shirou had a good heart, which only made her angrier whenever he tried to throw his life away.

They had saved each other's lives last night, so they could call it even on that front. But he had given her so much besides already. Was she intruding upon his hospitality by continuing to stay here? He didn't seem the type to kick her out, much less complain about her presence. She wanted to do something for him in turn, but what?

Shirou was already up as she came out of the guest room. She expected Sakura to arrive at any moment, but the girl was curiously absent.

The news was on, and Shirou seemed to be watching it intently. Quietly, Ayaka approached to get a better look for herself.

"An abandoned factory in Shinto burned down last night," the reporter said, the ruins visible behind them. "The fire has been contained but is still smoldering this morning, and it will be some time before a cause can be officially identified, though it is suspected to have been arson. This has led to new calls for the city government to demolish derelict structures that may pose a fire hazard."

"In other news, in the latest in a string of unexplained deaths, a student, Matou Shinji, was found deceased this morning."

"He didn't make it," Shirou said, his eyes downcast.

"They would have mentioned it in the story about the warehouse if he had died there, so keep listening," Ayaka urged, shushing Shirou.

"It is believed that he was on his way home when he died, but there is no evidence of an altercation."

"He was murdered," Shirou murmured.

"Matou Shinji attended Homurahara Academy and was the vice-captain of the archery club there. Grief counselors will be available at the school for any students who need them. He is survived by his sister, Sakura, and their grandfather, Zouken."

Shirou turned off the television.

"Shinji used to be my friend," he said. "I know you only saw the bad side of him, Ayaka, with all of his unwanted advances… and even I can't forgive him for killing all those people. But he wasn't always like that. Once, he was a good person. We met in middle school, while I was helping someone with some task. He stayed with me until it was done and told me 'You may be an idiot, but at least you do good work!' From there, we began hanging out a lot together. But something changed about him. Eventually, we grew more distant from each other, and…". He shook his head. "I can only imagine how Sakura's taking the news."

Ayaka couldn't bring herself to chastise Shirou now. He had known Shinji better than she had. "Forgive me if this is insensitive," she started carefully, "But if Shinji's dead, doesn't that mean that Rider will soon disappear as well?"

Shirou sighed. "True, Rider won't keep killing people." He clenched a fist. "But I didn't want anyone to die! I failed to save Shinji. And Misaya will…"

"You're too kind, Shirou. I mean, I don't really want to kill anyone either… but you heard Misaya. She's backed into a corner, and can't be reasoned with. That's the second time she's tried to kill me, and then there was how she planned to torture you…. Yet you're concerned about her?"

"I want to be able to save everyone. That was the wish my Dad passed onto me before he died, the dream he was never able to achieve."

Ayaka scowled.

"I'm sorry," Shirou said, realizing his mistake. "My Dad is a sore subject for you."

"It's okay." She shook her head bitterly. "Maybe your father was trying to atone in his own way for all the damage he caused and the lives he took as the Magus Killer. It doesn't mean I'll forgive him for any of it. And then I see what he taught you. I mean, it could have been far worse… you could have been the second Magus Killer. It's fine as an ideal… but it's just a dream, not something that can work in reality. If you risk yourself trying to save Misaya because you feel bad about what happened to Shinji, she'll just kill you for your trouble. So why?" A tear rolled down her cheek.

"I couldn't accept that I had lived when so many others had died on night of the fire," he told her. "I ignored their cries for help to save myself. Everything else that I had from before was burned away, but I was left with that guilt. My Dad's dream gave me a reason to go on."

"It's funny," Ayaka said. "I mean, that's we'd be here together, commiserating. But it's also cruel. I guess that's fate though. You wouldn't remember firsthand, but you know that we knew each other before the fire."

Shirou nodded. "I remember when you visited me in my hospital room. They said they had found someone who knew me, and that it might help my memories come back. But I didn't recognize you, and you clammed up as soon as you saw my Dad. You never really talked about it since."

"It was just a chance encounter in the park," Ayaka continued, looking away. Inwardly, she cursed herself. Her stubbornness might be a source of strength, but this memory made her vulnerable once more. It was a cherished shard of happiness from before everything went wrong, a faint but ever-present feeling within her. But this particular shard also cut deep, like glass into her heart, and it hurt.

"I was feeling lonely, so you played with me for a little bit. That's it," she said, cutting herself off as she raised walls around her heart once more. She was being too careless around Shirou without her glasses. "It's not like I knew anything else about you, save that your name was Shirou," she added after an awkward moment. "I don't know why I brought that up now."

Misaya's words echoed in her mind, gnawing at her. "…the hero who always has to save the girl the moment he hears her sob story." To Shirou, she was just another person for him to save, wasn't she? Without those memories, he couldn't feel the same way for her as she did for him.

"Don't apologize, Sajyou-san," Shirou said next to her, unexpectedly putting an arm over her shoulder, causing Ayaka to bolt upright.

"Wh-what was that for?" She stammered.

"You seemed down, so I thought…"

"You don't just do that to a girl without warning!"

She heard warm laughter, and turning around saw that Saber was behind them and had witnessed the whole thing.

"She has you there, Master. You shouldn't make a move like that without being sure of where the two of you are in the relationship. It creates all sorts of misunderstandings."

"Did anyone ask you?" Ayaka demanded, her cheeks turning red.

"It's good to see you so lively, Ayaka," the Servant said with an easy smile. "As I told you, I like you better this way, without your glasses."

"And what do you think, Emiya-kun?" She said, rounding on him.

"Sajyou-san…" he said, taking a step back, "sometimes you can be pretty scary this way… but its better than you being glum and timid all the time. You did look cute with your glasses though."

"This isn't fair, double-teaming me like that!"

"I'm serious!"

"Inexperienced as I may be with such things, I think he likes you," Shielder said into her mind.

"You're not helping."

They settled down to breakfast, but the awkward atmosphere remained. A sense of dread crept up on Ayaka once more as they departed together from the Emiya Residence to head to Homurahara Academy. Before, she had simply feared that Misaya might use the predictability of their schedule to ambush them with her Servant. But now that she had seen that Misaya was willing and in fact had killed innocents wholly unaffiliated with the Holy Grail War, she feared for her classmates.

Isemi was waiting by the school's gate, as he often did.

"Good morning, Sajyou-san." He frowned. "I heard the news about Shinji, but I'm glad to see that you're okay." His expression brightened. "You've been spending a lot of time with Emiya-san lately, haven't you?" he said with a good-natured chuckle.

Ayaka froze.

"Isemi-san… why would you say such a thing?" she said slowly.

"What do you mean, Sajyou-san?" Isemi asked, making a good show of innocence.

"Before, you warned me to be careful outside, and later you asked if I was feeling okay when I was visibly shaken. But you should have no reason to connect what happened to Shinji to whether or not I'm okay right now." She had dismissed her suspicions earlier, but now…

Isemi shook his head. "Looks like I was careless. I let my guard down too much around you, Sajyou-san."

"Wait a minute," Shirou says. "Does that mean that this guy…"

"He's Rider!" she hissed. A part of her wanted to run, but she stood firm. Shielder was invisible at her side, ready to protect her should Rider try anything.

"Are you sure, Sajyou-san? I can't sense anything out of the ordinary from him."

"That would be one of my Noble Phantasms," Isemi replied, confirming that he was indeed a Servant. "It allows me to conceal my identity and appear as an ordinary human. My Master's family took care of forging all of the paperwork necessary for me to enroll as a student here."

"Murderer! What are you planning, Rider? Did you kill Shinji?" Shirou demanded. Ayaka held an arm out in front of him, fearing that Shirou would do something suicidal, like charging Rider.

"I've done some terrible things since being summoned to this age, but betraying my Master is not one of them. Really, Shinji had it coming when he decided to dismiss me and head home practically defenseless. I can't say that I ever liked him though."

"What about the students here? Are you planning to take their mana and their lives, just like you did to those workers?" Ayaka pressed.

Rider looked scandalized. "I would never harm the students here."

"You tried to kill me last night!" Shirou retorted.

"That's different. You're a Master." Rider shrugged. "Perhaps it was jealousy on my part as well."

"Jealousy?" Ayaka thought.

"It may be a weakness of mine, but I rather enjoyed the opportunity to slip into an ordinary school life, and I would shatter that by feeding upon students here. But I won't ask for your forgiveness for doing what I had to so that my wish might be realized." He turned.

"Where do you think you're going?" Shirou asked angrily.

"You don't really want to have a fight right here and now, do you?" Rider asked. "Think of how many of your classmates you would be putting at risk in a battle between Servants."

"You're using them as human shields!"

"Yes, I am. But let me give you a tip before I go: the witch who sought to trap you in that mirrored world is hiding at Ryuudou Temple, on Mount Enzou. She's still weak from the wound I inflicted upon her, and is draining the monks there to keep herself clinging to life."

"Why are you telling us this?" Ayaka asked suspiciously.

"Make of it what you will. But you should also know that there's something wrong with that mountain."

"Kotomine told us about how its leylines had been drained by the Reserve System."

"It's something more fundamental than that. Isn't it strange that a Heroic Spirit like Caster could be summoned in the first place? She's a distorted, vindictive Heroic Spirit, which the ritual is supposed to preclude. And there's something lurking under Mount Enzou, subtly tainting its aura. Caster may well be the least of our worries."

Isemi/Rider shimmered, and a moment later he vanished into spirit form.

With Rider's departure, Ayaka and Shirou uneasily entered the school building, Rider's revelation and warning lingering on their minds. The atmosphere of the school was morose, reminding them of how popular Shinji had been in spite of how awful he was, and a school assembly was held in memory of Shinji, while the principal attempted to reassure the student body that they were safe.

Misaya was conspicuously absent. It also appeared that Kuzuki-sensei hadn't come back yet, and the normally irrepressible Fujimura-sensei was depressed by the death of one of her students. One could hardly say that things were normal at Homurahara Academy, or that they would return to how they had been any time soon.

Ayaka and Shirou arranged to meet each other on the rooftop during lunchtime to plan their next course of action. Shirou had wanted to check on Issei, concerned for his friend, and just by looking at him they could tell that Issei seemed unusually tired, which was consistent with Rider's story, but Ayaka had talked him out of doing so. If Caster truly was at Ryuudou Temple, then approaching Issei could be dangerous. Caster would likely be able to forcibly extract information from Issei when he returned home to the temple, effectively turning him into an unwitting spy for her, used to keep tabs on the other Masters. If they showed any unusual interest in the temple or a woman staying there in front of Issei, then Caster would know.

They encountered Rin as they neared the stairs to the rooftop. Rin seemed none too pleased by their presence, and let out a "Hmph!". That was right. Rin liked coming up here during lunchtime, but she still regarded them as enemies. It made Ayaka a little sad, but it seemed that stubbornness was another trait that she shared with Rin.

"Tohsaka-san, wait!" Addressing Rin less formally would feel awkward to Ayaka with the hostility that the other Magus was projecting.

"What do you and Emiya-kun want?"

"We've learned something we think you should know, and would like to exchange information with you." That sounded like something Rin would respond to. It wasn't proposing an alliance, which Rin had rebuffed before, but a transaction, hopefully what a Magus like Rin would recognize as an equivalent exchange.

Rin sighed. "Very well, Sajyou-san. But this had better not be like last time. I swear, if there's an enemy Servant waiting to ambush us again, I'll -"

Rin abruptly cut herself off as the three of them reached the rooftop. There was an unfamiliar man, tall and with wild blonde hair already on the rooftop, facing away from them and looking out over Homurahara Academy. They couldn't yet see his face, but judging from his stature and the casual black jacket he wore, she would have guessed that he was about their age, or slightly older, perhaps in his early twenties. Yet the man had a regal bearing, and his aura simply radiated power.

"No way…"

The man was beyond any doubt a Servant.

The Servant spoke, wholly unconcerned by them. "It is a curious thing to watch them trying to go about their daily lives. Even when one of their own is struck down, they remain oblivious to what is going on around them. Seeing how decadent this world has become disgusted me at first. People lose themselves in the banality of meaningless gossip, or pointless consumption. They lack the spirit that they had in times of old. But in spite of that, I am now filled with an incomparable joy! This war is a splendid thing, heroes from all ages in an exquisite battle to the death for the sake of a miracle! It is a drama that can truly move the soul! That by itself would have been more than enough to sate my boredom, but then —!"

The Servant turned around. Ayaka could now see that he wore a stylish orange shirt under his jacket, but what struck her most were his intense red eyes, which marked him as something far more than human. His gaze focused itself directly upon her, and it took all of her willpower not to wither under it.

"I found a diamond in the rough!" He stepped toward Ayaka.

At once, Shielder and Rin's Archer materialized. Shirou moved protectively between her and the Servant as well. Bound by a physical form, Saber couldn't materialize there unless Shirou were to expend another Command Spell.

The Servant chuckled. "How amusing. I look forward to putting you fellow Heroic Spirits in your place later. But I'm not here to fight right now." His gaze turned down toward Shirou. "Stand aside, Master of Saber. I would have looked forward to challenging your Servant most of all, but without Saber here you're hardly worth my time, nor worthy of her."

Ayaka was afraid of what the Servant might do if Shirou continued to stand in his way for her sake. "Shirou, please," she said, steeling herself as she took a step toward the Servant, whose eyes lit up.

Without warning, the Servant took hold of her hand, raising up in front of her, and bent down slightly to kiss it.

Ayaka's face burned bright red, yet she unable to wrest herself from the Servant's grip or pull herself away from his gaze, rendered momentarily speechless.

"Until I saw you, there has never been such a girl who has so won my approval! Even the radiance of proud Ishtar herself fades before you! Girl, please vow to me that you will put aside this boy and the meaningless prattle of those lesser Heroic Spirits, and become my empress once I have conquered them! I, Gilgamesh, shall give you every luxury and pleasure you could ever desire, and I shall soar through the heavens themselves with you at my side!"

"Wh-what?!"

 **A/N:**

 **I apologize for the delay in getting out this chapter. Between the publication of the last chapter and this one, I was struck with a plot bunny for a Code Geass and Persona 5 fusion fanfic. It is the nature of plot bunnies that they keep pestering you until you put the idea to page, and now the first few chapters of that plot bunny is published as "Lelouch of the Wings of Rebellion." But at least it was only a month this time instead of four or six.**

 **Gilgamesh's casual outfit in this scene is based on his casual outfit in Fate/Prototype, rather than UBW, though they share some similarities.**

 **This chapter could be said to be a bit of a breather before things start ramping up again. But hopefully, you'll enjoy it all the same.**


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